When Facebook (now Meta) announced in August 2020 that beginning in October of that year, users of Oculus devices would have to sign in with a Facebook account, it wasn’t a widely accepted move. Meanwhile, Meta revised this decision.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook article, “You won’t need a Facebook account to log into Quest beginning next month.” Instead, we’re releasing new Meta Accounts that you may use with our virtual reality headsets. This will offer everyone additional options for how they appear in the metaverse.”

Meta Accounts allow users to connect to their Virtual Reality devices, browse and manage their bought applications in a single location, and choose whether to integrate Facebook and Instagram into their Virtual Reality experiences.

In a blog post, the firm said, “As we highlighted at Connect 2021, we’re shifting from being Facebook-first to metaverse-first.” As part of this transition, we’ve taken a step back to consider what account model will best assist our efforts to construct the metaverse.”

While Meta Accounts allow individuals to log into their VR headsets and view and manage their acquired applications, they are not social profiles, according to Meta, who added that users’ Oculus accounts are being transformed to Meta Horizon profiles, which will portray their presence online in VR and other surfaces such as the web.

Meta Horizon profiles allow you to modify your avatar, username, and other information.

While adding a Meta Account to the duplicate Accounts Center as a person’s Facebook and Instagram account can allow related experiences, such as asking Instagram followers to play VR games or conversing with Facebook friends on Messenger, it is not essential.

New to Meta VR devices or have already integrated their Oculus, and Facebook accounts must establish a Meta Account and Meta Horizon profile beginning in August and before January 1, 2023.

Meta Accounts keep information such as the user’s date of birth, email address, name, payment information, and phone number. To establish one, users must be 13 (14 in South Korea and Spain). This information is not available to the general public, and several Meta Accounts may be formed.

Meta is modifying its behavior in VR policy to better reflect the progress of VR. In addition, it is upgrading its supplementary privacy policy and terms of service to reflect described changes.

Another change coming to Meta Quest in August is the transition from its existing buddy arrangement to a followers system, similar to how Instagram presently operates.

“You may select whether to publish your active status and activity updates, such as the applications you possess and your accomplishments, with your followers,” Meta noted in a blog post. “Suppose you already possess a Meta VR headset. In that case, your Oculus buddies will instantly become your followers, and you will automatically follow them back. You have the option to unfollow or delete followers at any moment.”

Finally, new privacy options have been introduced to Meta Quest to provide users more choice over who they engage with in VR as they construct their own communities.

Users may choose Open to Everyone, Friends and Family, or Solo, and those options can be altered at any moment.

Meta Horizon profiles may also be made private, meaning followers must accept follower requests. Only followers can see who a user follows and who follows the user.

Non-followers can still view a person’s avatar, screen name, follow count, amount of persons followed, profile picture, and username. In addition, they may search for other people’s names or usernames and send follow requests to others.