On Aug 18 Oculus announced via Twitter that" Starting in October 2020, everyone using an Oculus device for the first time will need to log in with a Facebook account."
"If you’re an existing user and already have an Oculus account, you’ll have the option to log in with Facebook and merge your Oculus and Facebook accounts."
"If you’re an existing user and choose not to merge your accounts, you can continue using your Oculus account for two years."
"After January 1, 2023, we will end support for Oculus accounts. If you choose not to merge your accounts at that time, you can continue using your device, but full functionality will require a Facebook account."
This is attempted to lore more people to Facebook. Californian company, Facebook is known for its controversial and abusive exploits of user's personal data. Escapiacly 2018's Facebook and Cambridge Analytica data scandal, which had legal involvement. This will track people's movements, voice, hearing, and maybe eye identification. In March 2014, Facebook, Inc. acquired Oculus for US$2.3 billion in cash and stock. Shortly afterwards, Oculus VR moved to Menlo Park, where Facebook headquarters are.
Everyone on Twitter that uses Oculus is pretty upset about and many don't even like Facebook. Many said they'll be migrating to HTC Vive, Playstation VR, and Steam VR. This may also effect Samsung Gear VR since the company partnered with Samsung to develop the Samsung Gear VR for the Samsung Galaxy smartphone in November 2015.
I recommend checking these open-source variants out.
Open Source Virtual Reality (OSVR) is an open-source software project that aims to enable headsets and game controllers from all vendors to be used with any games developed by Razer and Sensics. It is also a virtual reality headset that claims to be open-source hardware using the OSVR software.
OpenXR, an open, royalty-free standard for access to virtual reality and augmented reality platforms and devices
One Australian Youtube user said:
I managed to get my 6-month-old Oculus Rift S refunded over this. Amazon Australia were happy to refund me when I told them that this is a major change to the nature of the product I bought and I would like a refund under Australia's consumer guarantee.
This is such a perfect example of why these laws are so important and will be an example I use should I ever need to show my politicians why we need to keep them. - DJ 8/22/20
Also, on August 18, 2020, Oculus blog announced that all "decisions around use, processing, retention, and sharing of [user] data" on its platforms will be delegated to Facebook moving forward. Users will soon become subject to the unified Facebook privacy policy, code of conduct, and community guidelines, and all users will be required to have a Facebook user account in order to access Oculus products and services. Standalone account registration will become unavailable in October 2020, and support for existing standalone Oculus accounts on already released headsets will end on January 1, 2023. Furthermore, "all future unreleased Oculus devices will require a Facebook account, even if already has an Oculus account".
Users and media criticized Facebook for the move. Ars Technica noted that there are is no clear way to opt-out of information tracking and that the collected data will likely be used for ad targeting. Furthermore, Facebook requires the use of a person's real name, which might be harmful to victims of online harassment.
Big tech Facebook is globally a very influential and dangerous company that should be avoided at all costs. They want to control your data and use it against you. They even had a dictator in the Philippines got elected. This is a very bad decision from Facebook and if your an Oculus user look an alternative while you still can. RIP Oculus.
Check out YongYea's Youtube Video about this subject.
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