Facebook is now launching Messenger on the Oculus Quest and Quest 2 headphones, and trust me, I am also shrinking.
Messenger will only be available to those who have already connected their Facebook accounts to the Quest or Quest 2 headset, so those who have been hesitant to merge their separate Oculus accounts are safe for now. But if you’re one of those people who bought an Oculus headset in the end October, you probably already know that Facebook requires you to log in to your account first. It is understandable that this ad looks like a bigger attempt by Facebook to take control of your gadget“And gather more of your data.”
Adding Messenger to Oculus is completely contrary to the purpose of VR: immersion. Not only do I not want to read messages inside the headset, but exactly someone must respond on Messenger while using a Quest? Facebook said in its press release that users can write messages by typing them in VR, selecting something pre-written or using its voice-to-text feature, and gave no further details. Typing from the remote control has never been quick or convenient, not everyone can type without looking at the keyboard and the text voice is not 100% accurate. It doesn’t always take into account regional dialects or speech deficiencies.
And, I mean, why would you want to chat with your friends on Messenger in VR when VRChat exists? Thank goodness, Facebook is giving you the option to sign out of Messenger on your Oculus headset, which is better – the biggest problem here is Facebook’s propensity for data collection.
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Demanding users to link your Oculus to your Facebook account means that social media already has access to your VR gaming habitsbut Facebook collect data from your Messenger application as well.
When Apple launched its “nutrition privacy labels”For the App Store last year, he put a CVS-sized receipt on Facebook Messenger. First seen by 9 to 5Mac, it turns out that Facebook collects an absurd amount of data about its users, including: confidential information for product customization, analysis and application functionality; financial information for third-party advertisers and a category mysteriously labeled “other purposes”; and device identification data.
It is likely that if you use Messenger on your Oculus, Facebook will also collect data from there; According to Apple’s privacy label, Facebook collects data about users’ game content. When the company first announced would require Oculus users to connect with their Facebook accounts, confirmed that it would collect data about users’ “relevant content” in “Oculus activity” and that the data would be used to recommend Oculus events or VR applications.
Oculus is another way for the company to collect more data about its users, and adding Messenger to the VR platform gives the company more chances to do so. Combine all that with Facebook abysmal privacy historic, and honestly, he takes all the joy out of VR gaming with an Oculus headset.