Facebook’s parent company has detailed its new Meta Account system, which will be offered as an alternative way to log in to Meta VR devices.
Previously announced plans to make Facebook logins a requirement for Meta VR headsets had been extremely unpopular and plagued with problems.
Now we know roughly when and how an alternate plan will be put into practice: in August, and via the launch of a new, streamlined account system with a separate social profile named Meta Horizon.
“When we announced that we would start requiring people to log into Meta Quest using a Facebook account, we received a lot of feedback from the Quest community,” said a new blog post de Meta explains, underestimating the obvious.
“We took this feedback into account when designing a new Meta account structure that gives people flexibility and control.”
So starting in August, users will need to set up their Meta account (unless they’re logging in through an Oculus account not merged with Facebook, in which case you have until January 1, 2023 until things change).
Meta accounts will store your name, email address, phone number, payment information, and date of birth, although none of this information is public.
Next is your Meta Horizon profile, which replaces the Oculus profile. This is a virtual reality-specific social account where you can choose a username, profile picture, and avatar. Starting in August, Friends is also moving to a Follower structure, like on Twitter.
Finally, your Meta Horizon profile can be set to private, so only people you follow can see you, or made open and linked to your existing Facebook and/or Instagram accounts if you wish.
