Metahas revealed its new setup for Meta Quest players called Meta accounts and Meta Horizon profiles, which are intended to allow users the freedom, flexibility, and control to use theirMetaheadsets in ways that are most beneficial to them with deeper levels of privacy settings intended for stronger communities.
Meta accounts will be replacing Oculus accounts as the new way for players to sign in to their VR headsets, and the update is expected to roll out anytime from now until July 28, 2025. At that time, players using outdated login methods will be forced to replace their accounts with Meta, which will upgrade their “friends” to “followers,” similar to how it is on Instagram. However, where theMeta headset once required a Facebook account to sign in, that will no longer be the case.
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The reason for this update is because ofMeta community feedbackfrom players not happy with having to sign in to Facebook to use the VR headset. As a result, the update is intended to allow users to sign in to VR without a Facebook or Instagram. More than that though, the social aspects of the Meta Horizon profiles will continue to integrate the gaming experience with the existing social features of those applications for players that will continue to sign in with these platforms, such as being able to find followers to play with in VR and using FB Messenger in VR.
Meta assures players that the option will be available to integrate their social experience at a later date, even after initially setting up a Meta account. Whereas beforeusers would lose all Oculus content when deleting Facebook, Meta now also assures players that whether they use Facebook to sign in or not, there will be a seamless transition to access digitally purchased content when switching over to the Meta account. Concerns of privacy standards were addressed as well, with Meta stating that the Meta Horizon profiles of users between the ages of 13 and 17 will be automatically set to private by default. All other users 18 and above will have three privacy choices: Open to Everyone, Friends and Family, or Solo.
Despite the new privacy settings that Meta has introduced, some players are still unhappy that the Meta account feature is still the same company that runs Facebook, which is not a solution to their original criticisms of the VR headset. Although, there would essentially be no way for users to sign in and make purchases if there was no account to create, and with the new terms of service that come with the update,Meta will be sharing what information it collects, and how this information is used, in an attempt for better transparency between the company and its users.
Metawill release Meta account updates this month and into the rest of the year.
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