Mark Zuckerberg has grand plans for the future, if his F8 Conference announcements are anything to go by. The social media giant plans to move into the online dating sector, introduce new privacy features and potentially revolutionise the virtual reality headset industry.

Speaking on day one of the event, Zuckerberg seems to have shaken off the spectre of the Cambridge Analytica scandal; appearing upbeat and confident for the future of both Facebook and its sister platform, Instagram.

Here are some of the main talking points from the first day of the conference.

Facebook Dating

Facebook plans to move into the online dating market with the announcement of a dedicated dating platform. The platform intends to add new layers to its app to incorporate dating features. Since 2004 users have been able to disclose their relationship status and preference, however to date there has been no actual ‘dating’ capabilities.

Instead, mobile users across the globe have turned to sites such as OkCupid or popular dating app Tinder (which allows the user to link other social media profiles). In the wake of this announcement the share price for Match Group – the parent company of Tinder – fell 22%.

Zuckerberg said: “We want Facebook to be somewhere where you can start meaningful relationships.” and that the firm had “designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning.”

Virtual Reality

Facebook’s competitively priced, standalone VR headset Oculus Go is now on sale. Available to customers in two versions (32GB or 64GB of on-board storage) the pricing of this product could allow Facebook to make strides into the VR industry.

The headset is priced at $199 (32GB) and $249 (64GB) and will support multiplayer games as well as live-music experiences.

‘Clear History’

Facebook is to introduce new privacy features as it looks to calm user concerns in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The ‘Clear History’ feature will allow users to delete the data Facebook has collected from sites and apps that use its ads or analytics tools. This feature appears to be a clear move to quell calls for increased regulation of the site. During congressional meetings Zuckerberg was grilled over the amount of data Facebook collects and in the aftermath of the questioning users around the globe were concerned over their lack of control in the process.

In a post on Facebook Zuckerberg likened this to clearing cookies from your browsing history, stating:

“The idea is a lot of sites need cookies to work, but you should still be able to flush your history whenever you want.

“We’re building a version of this for Facebook too.”

Renewed App Review Processes:

Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will reopen its app review process. The firm had previously paused this in the wake of Cambridge Analytica, however this move will likely calm developers and ensure better user experiences on the platform.

Facebook can no longer afford to have apps misusing customer data. Speaking on stage, Zuckerberg said: “We’re hard at work making sure people don’t misuse this platform so you can all keep building things that people love, and today I’m happy to share that we’re reopening app reviews.”