Mark Zuckerberg’s company will soon launch a “Meta account” that will allow owners of a Quest headset to use it without going through Facebook. It’s a bit complicated, but we explain.
It was a promise from Mark Zuckerberg, it will be kept: you will soon no longer need to use your Facebook account to use a Meta Quest helmet. From August, the Menlo Park company will launch a new type of account, subtly called “Meta account”.
It will now be essential to configure and use a Quest, including for those who already use their Facebook account to take advantage of the virtual reality headset. “As of August 2022, anyone using VR Meta devices for the first time or who has already merged their Oculus account and their Facebook account will need to create a Meta account in order to log in to their devices” can we read in a company statement. Meta does not indicate this, but it is therefore assumed that Quest users will be prompted next month to create a new username and password in order to continue enjoying their games and experiences.
From Oculus to Meta, via Facebook
It’s a 180 degree turn for Meta. In the summer of 2020, Mark Zuckerberg’s teams had indeed angered the users of his helmets by forcing them to swap their good old Oculus account for a Facebook account. At the time, the firm saw it as a good way to bring VR users closer to its other services. But this decision had provoked intense criticism, at a time when Facebook was at the center of many controversies related to the respect of its users’ data: what about confidentiality? What about ad tracking?
Since its name change in October 2021, everything has changed at Meta, which no longer wishes to highlight its “Facebook” brand. The “Meta account” will therefore not be a “social” profile, associated with a list of friends, as an Instagram or Facebook account can be. It will simply be used to manage their device and application purchases.
But Meta is of course not going to completely abandon the friend list that made it famous. In addition to this Meta account, the company will then “invite” you to create a “Meta Horizon” profile (are you still following?). This one, on the other hand, will be “social”: it is the one that you will have to use in social applications and then the metaverse – if it ever exists – to communicate. It will consist of creating a nickname, an appearance through an avatar, a profile photo, etc.
Enhanced confidentiality
Burned by innumerable controversies, Meta is also keen to take all possible precautions to avoid new controversies. Thus, the individuals with whom you will connect via your Meta Horizon profile will no longer be “friends”, but “followers”, as on Instagram. In this way, “you will be able to choose whether or not you want to share your online activity and status updates, such as the applications you have and your achievements, with your followers. Meta says.
In addition, Meta will offer three levels of privacy for your social profile: “open to everyone”, “Friends and Family” and “You only”. And will also offer a “private” mode (activated by default for minors aged 13 to 17) which will require your followers to obtain your approval to follow you.
Clarification: the Meta account will be made compulsory for the last resistants, those who still use their Oculus account, from January 2023.
Source :
Meta