Westcountry Singles vs Facebook Dating: Keep Your Love Life Your Own

Published 6 October 2026 by Westcountry Singles

Facebook Dating and Westcountry Singles compared

Facebook Dating details are from Meta's public information and well-documented sources, checked in October 2026.

Dating that stays out of your news feed

Facebook Dating arrived in the UK in October 2020 and is run by Meta. You switch it on from the Facebook app and make a dating profile that is separate from your main one, so your friends do not see it. Because it lives inside Facebook, setting up is quick and it costs nothing.

Still, some people would rather their love life had no link at all to the account their aunt, their boss and half the village follow. On Westcountry Singles you have an account of its own and a username. Your real name and email are never shown to other members, there is nothing to connect your profile to your social media, and you decide what to share and when. If you live somewhere small, like Bude, Minehead or South Molton, where everyone seems to know everyone, that privacy matters.

Meeting someone new, not someone from school

One of Facebook Dating's best-known features is Secret Crush. You can pick up to nine Facebook friends or Instagram followers, and if one of them picks you too, you are matched; if not, nobody finds out. Matches are also suggested from things you have in common, such as groups and events. For someone who already has a friend they quietly like, that is a gentle way to find out.

Westcountry Singles is for widening your circle rather than looking inside it. Members are people from across the region you have probably never met, with the largest groups around Plymouth, Exeter and Bristol and members in towns from Penzance to Weston-super-Mare. Daily suggestions take account of the age range you want, how far you would travel, the kind of relationship you are after and lifestyle questions like drinking and smoking. Find your area on our locations or read about singles near you.

Moderators who look at profiles

Meta uses age checks on Facebook Dating, which can mean a video selfie or a piece of ID when it asks, to keep the service for adults. It does not add a separate verification badge to dating profiles.

We put verification on show. Members can take a free ID check and get a badge, or verify on a short video call with one of our moderators without any documents. Admin-validated profiles carry their own badge too. Behind that, human moderators work alongside automatic behaviour checks, you can block or report anyone straight from their profile, and the site warns you if someone tries to move you off the site and onto WhatsApp or text. Our safety page has the full picture.

A site made only for dating

Facebook Dating is one part of a very large app that does a great many other things. Westcountry Singles does one thing. Everything on it, from status updates and polls to chat rooms and group chats for VIP members, is there to help South West singles get talking. It runs in any web browser on a phone or computer, so you do not need the Facebook app or any app store download. VIP membership adds unlimited messaging and search by city and distance; see pricing for what each plan includes.

When Facebook Dating might suit you better

If you spend a lot of time on Facebook already and are comfortable with your dating profile sitting inside it, Facebook Dating is easy and costs nothing at all. It is also the natural choice if there is someone in your friends list you would like to take a chance on, because Secret Crush is designed for exactly that.

It covers far more places than we do, so if you live outside the South West it will serve you better. And if you are in your twenties, you will probably find more people your age there; our members are mostly older.