Introducing Meta Accounts: A New Login for VR

[Ryanality]

Coming in August 2022, we’ll begin rolling out Meta accounts, a new way for people to log into their VR headsets that doesn’t require a Facebook account. 

Your Meta account is not a social media profile; it lets you log into your VR devices and view and manage your purchased apps in one place. You can also add your Meta account to the same Accounts Center as your Facebook or Instagram account to unlock connected experiences across Meta technologies — like finding your Facebook friends to play games with in VR or chatting with friends on Messenger. 

To learn more, check out our blog post.

 

[TomCgcmfc]

Does not matter what you do, some people will always find a way to complain, lol!  Seems like a good move to me.

[GuernseyMan]

Facebook/Meta/Instagram/WhatsApp etc have a history of lying to their users, selling personal data and manipulating public opinion. Don't be surprised when people are sceptical about anything to do with them.

I have a number of single player games, that I paid for, together with a VR headset, that I also paid for. I can't use either unless I sign up for a, poorly disguised, social media account. I gave up using social media years ago as it is not good for anyone's mental well-being and I resent being forced back into it to use what is basically a toy.

[Lethal_Aims]

Please can Oculus clarify these apparently contradictory statements.

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@Ryanality wrote:

Your Meta account is not a social media profile

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https://www.oculus.com/blog/meta-accounts/

After you finish creating a Meta account, you’ll be prompted to create a Meta Horizon profile, which replaces your Oculus profile. Your Meta Horizon profile is your social profile in VR and other surfaces, like the web.

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Is it mandatory to have a Meta Horizon profile, or can you decline/skip this step after creating a Meta account? If the profile is mandatory then it is misleading to say the account is not a profile.

[TomCgcmfc]

@Lethal_Aims  Please give us break and wait until next month when they come into effect  lol!

[GuernseyMan]

It's a valid question and I would also like to know the answer. If you're not concerned with your personal data/privacy that's fine, please don't ridicule people who are.

Companies like Meta have not been taken to task for their misleading representations enough and look at the state of the industry as a result.

[TomCgcmfc]

@GuernseyMan  Sorry but I didn't mean to ridicule anyone.  While there are never any stupid questions, much of what is being asked is already spelt out in the Meta Blog t+c.  I think further details will be much clearer when the process starts up next month.   At least you have till the end of this year so it's not something you need to immediately jump into.  Cheers.

[RauelRualbe]

Yeh wait until it's to late. That's always a great idea?

[RauelRualbe]

Haven't actually had much luck getting a look at those terms and conditions as it appears I can not access them without a Facebook account?

Personally I want clarification before I am forced into agreeing to something without having the time tp examine whether that is a good idea.

I can not see how giving a company permission to arbitrarily render hardware you legally own useless could be a good idea?

It seems a pretty serious concern to me that compulsory social platform accounts make it possible for them to do this if you agree to it?

The fact that they seem to be declaring that they will disable access to your game library and the functionality of your headset if you don't give them permission to do that doesn't exactly inspire confidence either?

A few years ago I would have been certain the behavior is illegal but the last government cycle saw consumer rights seriously eroded here. Thus we have a new government now.

[Lethal_Aims]

On @TomCgcmfc advice I re-read the blog article and found the following.

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If you’ve been logging into your VR device with your Oculus account, you can continue to do so until January 1, 2023, at which point you’ll need to create a Meta account and Meta Horizon profile to continue using your Meta VR device.

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Sounds to me like the public social profile is mandatory. This Facebook link details all the personal data Meta will store and could potentially share with third-parties.

https://store.facebook.com/gb/legal/quest/updated-privacy-policy/

The information collected in your use of Meta technology will be used to:

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To power social features and personalise and promote content

Stating a Meta account is not a social media profile is at best misleading. Given Facebook's history of personal data privacy abuse you would think they would be a little more honest and transparent about these major changes for Oculus users.

[Nimarus]

The whole "You have to join Facebook" caused me to completely abandon my Oculus Rift. It's been collecting dust for nearly a year. Why spend my hard-earned money on a game library I'm going to be locked out of in about a year? I'm still not a fan of the Meta Account, but at least I'll be able to keep my library and not enslave myself to the cancer that is Facebook. Just don't expect any real personal info for my Meta account.