Oculus headset. Image: Meta/Oculus
Facebook is loosening a controversial rule about how users log into its VR headsets.
Why it matters: A mid-2020 mandate that Oculus VR users enter a Facebook login to operate the device infuriated some longtime Oculus users who wanted nothing to do with the controversial social network.
- "We are going to move away from requiring a Facebook login for Meta Quest in the future," the company's vice president of Reality Labs Andrew Bosworth said.
- Bosworth was using the company's new name for the VR device formerly known as Oculus Quest, as it phases out the Oculus branding in favor of Facebook's new name.
While Quest users won't need a Facebook login, they will need an account tied to Mark Zuckerberg's overall company, not, say, a Gmail account.
- "It won't be third-party credentials," Bosworth said. "It just won't be Facebook credentials."
- Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion in 2014. It let people log into the headset with an Oculus account until last year's change.
Go deeper: Facebook's long, bumpy road to the metaverse