Soon you will no longer need a Facebook account to use a Meta Quest headset. However, you will need to create a Meta account.
Meta has decided to change its tune when it comes to the configuration of its virtual reality headsets. Users will no longer need a Facebook account, but a new Meta account, which will not necessarily be linked to Facebook. The company will begin rolling out the feature next month for existing users and new users with a Meta Quest. Those with an Oculus account will need to have a Meta account in order to continue using their headset after January 1, 2023.
Soon you will no longer need a Facebook account to use a Meta Quest headset
The company explains that a Meta account is not a profile on any social network, it “allows you to identify yourself on your virtual reality devices and see and manage your purchases in one place.” Future devices arriving on the market will also require a Meta account.
There is, however, a social aspect to this new type of account, at least for virtual reality headsets. When you create a Meta account, you must create a Meta Horizon profile with the username, avatar, profile picture, etc., which you will use in the American giant’s metaverse.
Your Oculus friends will become your followers and you will automatically follow them back. You can, of course, unfollow and unfollow others. You still have the option to link your Meta account to Facebook and Instagram, then you can chat with your friends in the VR version of Messenger or find friends to play with.
Although Facebook has a “one account per person” rule in place, the company has no problem with you possibly having multiple Meta accounts. One for you virtual meetings and another to hang out with your friends, for example.
However, you will need to create a Meta account
New accounts will have a number of privacy controls, including the ability to make your profile private and manually approve friend requests. Users between the ages of 13 and 17 will also have a private profile by default.
In any case, here is an important change, Meta continues to implement its vision of the metaverse. That being said, Meta has reportedly scaled back its ambitions in recent months, canceling a number of Reality Labs projects and pausing its dual-camera smartwatch project.
Be that as it may, there are still positive points from this assumed divorce at Meta between virtual reality and its social applications. Users who are interested in Meta Quest, but want nothing to do with Facebook will no longer need an account on the social network to enjoy it.