Whether Facebook has been the main obstacle between you and the virtual reality bandwagon, we have great news.
Meta announced on Thursday that starting in August, you will no longer need a Facebook account to use its Quest More VR headsets. There will be a new Meta account that every new quest owner will need to create once it rolls out next month. Owners of existing devices can use their current configuration until January 1, 2023, when they will need to create a Meta Account for the Quest or any future Meta devices. The account itself will simply be a way to manage your purchased games and apps, and in the words of Meta itself, “it’s not a social profile.”
Instead, there will be an accompanying “Meta Horizon” profile that you create next to the Meta account, or it will just replace the Oculus profile you already have if you’re a VR vet. Here you can create a social presence, connect your Facebook and Instagram accounts and manage your “Followers”, which will replace the old “Friends” model. In this sense, it will be more like Instagram than Facebook. Existing Oculus Friends will automatically become Followers and you will automatically follow them when this change occurs.
The start of your new Meta journey.
Credit: Meta
So, in other words, those who already have Oculus profiles will see them switch to Meta Horizon profiles that work more or less the same way. You will also be able to unpair your Meta account and your Facebook account if you have already connected to a VR headset with it. The end result is that no one needs to have a Facebook account if they want to use a Meta headset in the future, which is probably for the best.
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The biggest potential blocker here is for people who had existing Oculus accounts linked to Facebook accounts and choose to unlink the two when the change happens. In response to a request from Mashable, Meta confirmed that Meta account and Facebook account data will still be linked for up to 90 days after the two are separated.
“If you delete your Meta account from the same Account Center as your Facebook account, it may take us up to 90 days to stop combining your Meta account data and Facebook data for things like ads, personalization or suggestions of friends or accounts to follow. After this time, we will only use data from your Meta account and your Facebook account to help us more accurately count people who use our services and for marketing purposes. integrity to keep you and others safe. For example, taking action against a Meta account if it is reported as spam or abuse. Learn more here.”
Still, that should mostly come as a relief to those who have so far shunned Quest headsets due to Facebook’s requirement. Of course, Meta still owns the product and benefits from every purchase, so you should always think about it. Never mind.
UPDATE: July 7, 2022, 4:25 p.m. EDT This article has been updated to include clarification on sharing account data between Meta and Facebook accounts.
