In reversing a previous change that mandated Facebook accounts from the company’s primary Facebook app on the devices while maintaining linkages to social networks there, Meta Platforms Inc. is changing how users log onto its virtual reality headsets.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of the organization’s new “Meta accounts” in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Following complaints from consumers who had previously accessed the headsets via separate accounts from Oculus, the virtual reality firm that Meta, then known as Facebook, acquired in 2014, the social media giant revealed intentions to remove the Facebook login requirement last year.
According to the company’s blog post, the new login system will use Meta accounts to manage app purchases and device-level access while Meta Horizon profiles will represent users’ social presence in virtual reality and include linked user names and avatars.
In a single Meta Accounts Center, users will also have the option to link their accounts, which will incorporate their current social relationships from Facebook, Instagram, or Messenger into their virtual reality experiences, the company stated.
The business would only merge user data across apps for counting users and enforcing safety rules for accounts not registered to the Accounts Center, a spokesman told the media.
According to a copy of the memo seen by the media, product chief Chris Cox mentioned the modification last week. He referred to it as Project Simile and said it would “enable continuity across the metaverse.”
As part of its “family of applications,” Meta has been working to link accounts and other products. This enables customers cross-app capabilities while also allowing Meta to compile information about users’ behavior across various contexts.
Later that year, the firm launched a payment tool, now known as Meta Pay, through which users may conduct transactions across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. In 2019, the company announced ambitions to consolidate its messaging structure across apps.
