Meta’s new approach to identity in the metaverse

Meta is changing the way people log into their VR headsets, again: The company is introducing Meta accounts for all of its VR hardware products going forward. It’s also switching from using Oculus profiles to Meta Horizon profiles for all things social in VR.

This move is a remarkable 180 for the company, which only two years ago made Facebook logins mandatory for its VR headsets. That shift led to an outcry among early Oculus owners (but seemingly didn’t do much to slow adoption of its wireless Quest headset). The company teased a change on this policy late last year, but there remained uncertainty. On Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg personally announced the reversal on his Facebook page, saying, “You won't need a Facebook account to log into Quest starting next month.”

These new Meta accounts aren’t just about placating a small but vocal group of critics. The shift also represents a new approach to identity in VR and beyond — and an acknowledgment that Facebook’s aging social graph may not be the best foundation to build the metaverse.

• Meta is introducing its new Meta accounts next month. People who previously logged into their VR headsets with their Facebook accounts can opt to keep those two accounts connected via the company’s Accounts Center.
• Most users will be transitioned to Meta accounts in the coming weeks, but anyone who is still using an Oculus one will have until next year to make the switch.
• Coinciding with the switch, Meta will also introduce new Meta Horizon profiles that will essentially be people’s social VR identity.
• Meta accounts are only necessary for VR headsets at launch, but will also come to other devices in the future. (The company said earlier this year it was planning to launch Horizon on mobile devices and has been working on AR glasses.)

Meta accounts are much more than just a fresh coat of paint. Coinciding with the switch, the company is also recognizing that some of its long-held beliefs about social networking won’t work in the metaverse.

• One of the biggest changes: Meta won’t force people to use their real names anymore. You’ll be able to choose any username of your liking for your Meta Horizon profile.
• The company still encourages people to add their real names to help others find them, but isn’t making this a requirement.
• People will also be able to create as many Meta accounts as they like, enabling them to have a more buttoned-up identity for work and a completely different one for their late-night Arena Clash battles.
• Each Quest headset can be used with up to four Meta accounts.
• That’s very different from Facebook, which only allows one account per person.
• Another important switch: While Oculus profiles used a Facebook-like friends model for social connections, Meta Horizon profiles will instead adopt Instagram’s follower model.
• That’s clearly a nod to Meta’s bet on building a creator economy in the metaverse, as it will allow people to follow celebrities, performers and metaverse creators.

Meta is betting big on the metaverse as the future of social, and the introduction of a new account structure is another step in that direction. On the one hand, it’s an acknowledgment that Facebook itself isn’t all that useful in building the metaverse. Chances are you don’t really want to hang out with those obnoxious relatives whose Facebook posts make you cringe every time they show up in your feed, even if it’s in the metaverse.

But it’s also a vote of confidence, with Meta telling people, “We’ve built massive social apps before, and we can do it again — even without your creepy uncle.”

— Janko Roettgers

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Netflix teams up with Sennheiser for immersive audio

Spatial audio is all the rage with AirPods owners. It’s also a challenge for a company like Netflix. The service does support Apple’s format, but it also streams to thousands of different devices, many of which aren’t compatible with AirPods (think Android phones or smart TVs).

To bring a more immersive audio experience to all of its subscribers, Netflix has now teamed up with Sennheiser. Using the headphone maker’s AMBEO audio format, Netflix is able to bring what it calls “enhanced stereo” to plain old headphones, stereo soundbars and even simple laptop speakers, the company announced Thursday.

The new format does require Netflix to re-encode its audio, which is why the company is starting with just a couple dozen titles, including the latest season of “Stranger Things.” Subscribers can find compatible titles by searching for “spatial audio,” and the feature will be turned on by default. The question is, will Netflix members notice? And if so, how long until we’ll see similar formats come to Disney+ and other services?

— Janko Roettgers

Disclosure: Protocol is owned by Axel Springer, whose chairman and chief executive officer, Mathias Döpfner, is on the board of Netflix.

In other news

Meta now sells 90% of all VR headsets. Its closest competitor, ByteDance-owned Pico, only accounts for less than 5%, according to new IDC numbers. Those numbers should change when Sony finally ships its new PlayStation VR 2 headset.

The U.K. is investigating Microsoft’s Activision acquisition. The $69 billion deal is under scrutiny from the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority, CNBC reported. The CMA is looking at whether the deal could result in “higher prices, lower quality, or reduced choice.”

TiVo's parent company acquires Vewd for $109 million. Xperi wants to use Vewd to launch a TiVo operating system for smart TVs.

Fall Guys’ free-to-play milestone. In a now-standard story, the developer of battle royale hit Fall Guys said the game crossed 50 million players in just two weeks after dropping its price to zero.

Sony removes purchased movies from customer libraries. Proving once again that purchasing digital content isn’t the same as buying a DVD, Sony is telling PlayStation Store customers in Germany and Austria that they will lose access to movies like “John Wick” and “La La Land” at the end of August due to “evolving licensing agreements.”

The fourth season of “Stranger Things” surpassed 1 billion viewing hours within 28 days of its release. The show is now the second-most-popular title on Netflix after “Squid Game,” but the decision to split up the season into two parts may have helped to boost those numbers.

Global video subscriptions will grow 10.5% this year. The worldwide online video subscription market is set to surpass 2 billion subscriptions by 2027, according to Omdia.

The inside story on the Axie Infinity hack. Sky Mavis’ pay-to-earn game had its Ethereum sidechain compromised by a fake job offer sent to an Axie employee, according to crypto news site The Block.

AR cleaning

Ever wonder what a new chair would look like in your living room, but can’t really imagine it because you already have too much crap everywhere? No worries, Shopify’s got you covered: The company’s AR/VR team has been experimenting with Apple’s new RoomPlan AR API to build a “reset button” for your surroundings. Just scan your room, press that button and you can make all that clutter disappear, making way for a clean canvas to add new AR furniture for a try-before-you-buy-kind-of preview. It’s a fun feature, and the 15-year-old in me can’t wait for it to come to future AR glasses. Just imagine: You’ll never have to clean up again!

— Janko Roettgers

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