Lately I borrowed the Quest2 from my nephew. I’m therefore able to better understand how the Meta account, which my nephew allows me to access to, works. Meta is a company that often applies shady strategies towards consumers, see the recent public misleading presentation of legs tracking. As much shady as the handling of user data, that’s what Meta is really interested in. Meta’s strategy is not driven by passion for VR; if you’re VR enthusiast, you don’t act like Meta, exactly the opposite. VR is just a means to keep grabbing user data in an increasingly invasive way. You can grab biometric data through tracking, and data about the world surrounding the user through AR devices with cameras and mic; e.g. data about consumers preferences. That’s the reason why I suggest keeping a thousand miles away from any Meta product.
They say you actually need to subscribe Facebook account no more. But they never explain enough that when you subscribe Meta account, the subscription to another social network account is mandatory and included! Yes, you are automatically subcribed to Meta Horizon, the social network of the metaverse, the Facebook of VR! So, what’s the difference? No difference! From traditional social network to VR social network. Same implications and policies about the way your data are managed by Meta! To be clear, it’s not the same to subscribe to Steam, or Playstation or Xbox etc. No, it’s a social network account with specific rules and consequences about user data management. Period!
Plus, you’re obliged to pair your smartphone to the Meta account! Yes, the identity of users is achieved through their phones! Meta has access to your data on your phone! Yes! And they never say this enough! Everytime you use apps on Meta devices, e.g. Quest2, apps ask you to allow them to access your phone! Bizarre, isn’t it? The Quest2 is a mobile device, just like a VR smartphone. But it’s not enough! You have to pair your phone! It’s completely ridiculous! They are hungry for your data, your identity and everything you do, so much that they apply these shady strategies. And users are fine with this! We are already living the dystopian cyberpunk era!
This is not the end. In 2020 I subscribed to Oculus Store. It was a standard subscription, just like subscribing Steam or Epic Games Store. No social network s..t or data grabbing purpose. I was interested in playing Rift exclusive games through Revive. I never linked my Facebook account to the Oculus account. Lately I discovered that Meta linked without warning unilaterally my Facebook account to the Oculus account! Not just that! They subscribed me to Meta Horizon! They turned my Oculus account in a Meta Horizon account! What?? They are two completely different kinds of subscription!! Oculus is a store subscription, Horizon is a social network subscription with heavy implications about user data management! If you browse your Oculus account and search for the stored info, you can see that they have info about my social activity on Facebook! Lately I’m using Facebook no more, so they have old data. I’m getting rid of traditional social networks like Facebook or Twitter, they are toxic. Maybe I’m leaving even Reddit, no decision taken actually, as you can see if you’re reading this post!
This is not the end! I have around 10 games on my Oculus account. But I’m losing them for ever because of another unilateral imposition from Meta! If you don’t move to a Meta account before January 2023, your Oculus account will be deleted, purchased games and apps included! And you know? You cannot move games to an existing Meta account. I would like to move my games to my nephew’s account, but I cannot! And I cannot open a fake Meta account, because actually the Oculus account is a social account like every Meta account, so it’s linked to your real identity! You can have only one Meta account! So I have no alternative: turning my Oculus account into a Meta account or losing my games for ever.
Obviously I’m closing and deleting my Oculus account for ever, being careful to stay a thousand miles away from anything to do with Meta, because as you can see, they do what they want with your data without even warning you!
F… you Zuck!
Video Games Art 