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Meta Quest headsets will eventually stop requiring a Facebook account

Meta Quest headsets will eventually stop requiring a Facebook account




Meta is introducing a new account system for its virtual reality headsets, replacing the 2020 requirement that most users log in with Facebook. The new "Meta accounts" don't require users to sign up for Facebook, and they come with several other updates to Meta's VR social interface.

Meta accounts for new and existing Quest users will start rolling out in August 2022. If you're using a Facebook account with a Quest headset (including a Facebook account merged with an earlier Oculus account), you'll need to create a meta profile. for that month. If you're logging in with an Oculus account, you can continue to use it until January 1, 2023, as promised earlier. If you migrate your account, you should see all the VR apps you've purchased before.

The new option fulfills a promise made last year by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and it addresses the fact that a large portion of Meta's VR user base hates the need for a Facebook account. It also reflects Meta's desire to move from traditional social apps like Facebook to a virtual "metaverse" environment. The company says it plans to expand the Meta Account service to "other Meta devices" in the future, possibly referring to something like Portal Videophone.

In practice, however, a lot of Facebook account requirements exist even in meta accounts. Meta account creation requires a lot of personal information, including your name, email address, phone number, date of birth and payment details to purchase apps. A blog post about the change says that your Meta account is "not a social profile", but it does say that you will need to create a Meta Horizon profile, which is social and supports VR and "other surfaces, such as the web". will appear. ,

There are three privacy options for who can see your Horizon account activity — "open to everyone," "friends and family," and "singles" — and you can set your account to "private," which allows you to Allows You will allow people to follow you. (Accounts use a "followers" system like Instagram, rather than a mutual "friends" system like Facebook.) But similar to Facebook, people can still search for a locked-down account on the service, and they can see your profile picture. Huh. Avatar, username, display name and how many people you follow and follow.

But a key difference is that you can create multiple meta accounts, each with a different Horizon profile -- contrary to Facebook's "one public identity" rule. Meta implies that it is a way to maintain multiple individuals, such as a buttoned-down business profile and one for gaming with friends. These accounts can share apps on the same device using Meta's App Sharing feature, and you can optionally link them to Facebook and Instagram accounts to enable certain social features.

Personal Meta accounts could also alleviate the niche but real problem of people being locked out of their headsets on temporary Facebook suspension, something that's easy enough to hit on that huge platform — though Meta has long been a rage for people like spammers. Reserved the right to restrict multiple platforms at once.

Meta's model is still more locked-down than many competing VR headsets (mostly PC-tether), which don't require an account to set up. But it's potentially less annoying for people who don't specifically want to deal with Facebook -- giving Meta another chance to move on from its old name.

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