Meta Quest headsets will no longer require a Meta / Facebook account

Meta is launching a new account system for its virtual reality headsets, replacing the prior need that users register in with Facebook. Users do not need to sign up for Facebook to use the new "Meta accounts," which come with a few other changes to Meta's VR social interface and conditions.

Meta accounts will be available to new and existing Quest users in August 2022. If you've been using a Facebook account with a Quest headset (including one combined with a prior Oculus account), you'll need to create a Meta account and corresponding profile that month. If you've been utilising an Oculus account to log in, you can continue to do so until January 1st, 2023. When you transfer your account, you should be able to see all of your previously purchased VR apps.

The new option fulfils a promise Meta made last year, and also addresses the reality that a substantial portion of Meta's VR user base despised the requirement for a Facebook account. It also indicates Meta's ambition to transition away from traditional social apps such as Facebook and into virtual "metaverse" surroundings.

In practise, though, many Facebook account requirements appear to be present in Meta accounts as well. Meta account setup necessitates a large amount of personal information, such as your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, and payment information for purchasing apps.

You may choose between three privacy settings for who can view your Horizon account activity: "open to everyone," "friends and family," and "solo," and you can set your account to "private," which allows you to approve people who follow you. (The accounts employ a "following" system similar to Instagram instead of a mutual "friends" structure similar to Facebook.) People can still search for a locked-down account on the service, and they can see your profile photo, avatar, username, display name, and how many people you follow and are followed by, just like on Facebook.

However, one key distinction is that you can set up several Meta identities, each with its own Horizon profile, as opposed to Facebook's "one public identity" regulation. Meta implies that this is a method for maintaining various personas, such as a formal corporate profile and one for gaming with pals. These accounts can share apps on the same device via Meta's App Sharing feature, and you can link them to a Facebook or Instagram account to allow some social capabilities.

Separate Meta accounts may help alleviate the rare but genuine problem of users being locked out of their headsets due to a temporary Facebook suspension, which is pretty common on Facebook.

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