Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced on Tuesday that it has started rolling out the Meta account for Quest VR headsets users, replacing the standard Facebook login. The company had promised in July that these changes would be rolling out in August.
“Our new Meta account structure gives you more flexibility and control, letting you choose how you do and don’t show up—and whether Facebook and/or Instagram is part of your experience in VR and other surfaces where you use your Meta Horizon profile,” says the company.
New users can create a Meta account using an email address, Facebook account, or Instagram account.
When a user first wears their headset, they will get a code to pair the headset with the Oculus mobile app (available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store).
Post that, the user can continue with Facebook or Instagram or use their email address to create a Meta account.
If a user chooses to create a Meta account using Facebook or Instagram, that social media account and the Meta account will be added to the same Accounts Center.
Once the user creates a Meta account, they’ll need to set up a linked Meta Horizon social profile that will be used in VR. According to the company, people between the ages of 13 and 17 will have their Meta Horizon profiles set to private by default.
Users can continue using an Oculus account until January 1, 2023, after which they must make a Meta account and Meta Horizon profile to continue using their Meta VR device.
Whether or not they continue with Facebook, users will have access to all of their previous VR purchases and downloads.
“Do keep in mind that if you create a Meta account without Facebook, you’ll no longer be able to easily look for your Facebook friends who use Meta VR devices. You’ll also lose access to connected experiences that require Facebook, like using Messenger in VR,” notes the company.
