Needless to say, the Facebook 2021 keyword was weird and outrageous. It was an hour-long hypnosis as Facebook tried to convince customers that it was no longer Facebook – the company even changed its name to Meta! But within all that nonsense came a few things to look forward to, especially if you’re an Oculus user.
Remember when Oculus Quest started asking users to sign in with a Facebook account? Yes, that’s about to expire next year. In an interview with StracheeryMark Zuckerberg explained that the ongoing backlash to these account requirements was a key factor in Facebook’s rebranding to Meta. Facebook (or Meta, whatever) seems to have recently realized how people feel about its brand.
We’re not sure how Facebook will implement this change. But you’re supposed to rename the Oculus Quest by name MetaQuest. Knowing this, we expect the company to offer dedicated “Meta” accounts for its headphones (and possibly smart home and wearable products).
As we’ve focused more on business, and since we’ve heard feedback from the broader VR community, we’re working on new ways to log into Quest that won’t require a Facebook account, landing sometime next year. This is one of our top priority areas of work internally.
But as explained Andrew BosworthQuest users will have the option to delete or disconnect their Facebook account without losing all the apps they have downloaded. Previously, you would lose any apps you downloaded or purchased on Quest if you lost or unlinked your Facebook account.
Zuckerberg also announced some changes to the sideloading process for Quest. It promises that Quest users will gain the ability to download VR apps from outside the official Meta Store without any weird solutions. Ideally, this means Meta will offer third-party app stores within its own Meta Store, but I have a feeling Meta is simply removing the login requirement for sideloading.
In the grand scheme of things, these changes are only there to separate the Meta Quest headphones from the Facebook brand. They may improve your experience with virtual reality, but they won’t stop Meta from collecting your personal data. Keep this in mind as the Oculus Quest is slowly becoming a Meta Quest.
Source: Meta via the edgeAnd Android Central
