Meta’s VR App Horizon Worlds Now Available to Teens

Meta has announced it’s opening its flagship VR app Horizon Worlds to teenagers in the United States and Canada. Until now, the social VR platform had only been accessible to users who were 18 years and above. 

This move is part of the company’s strategy to increase engagement on its Quest headsets and grow its presence in the evolving metaverse. Teenagers can now experience concerts, live comedy events, and immersive worlds while connecting with people from around the globe. They can play various games, such as Arena Clash and Giant Mini Paddle Golf, and create their own virtual experiences.

As part of the expansion, Meta has put in place a set of safety defaults and age-appropriate protections to ensure the safety of younger users. These include privacy settings for profiles, content ratings for worlds and events, a voice mode feature, and limitations on interactions between teens and adults they don’t know. All users, including teens, will have access to additional safety tools, such as safe zones and personal boundaries. Meta said the safety features were designed with input from parents, safety advocates, and experts.

Teens also have control over their profile privacy settings, including who they follow and who can follow them back. Meta sets profiles to private by default, allowing teens to approve or decline requests to follow them. In addition, Meta won’t display a teen’s active status or location by default, but teens can choose to share this information with their connections.

Before the announcement, child advocates urged Meta to reconsider its plan to bring young teenagers onto the social VR platform. They expressed worries that such a move would expose them to violent content.

“A leaked memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal indicates Meta plans to open up Horizon Worlds to teens in order to drive profits. Meta has invested heavily in Horizon Worlds, and it appears that Meta’s investment in VR is failing, and endangering children in the process,”

the letter wrote.

Last month, U.S. senators raised concerns about a flaw in Messenger Kids allowing kids to talk to strangers, Meta’s failure to block inappropriate ads to teens, and risks to teens in the metaverse, including personal data collection, physical health concerns, and exposure to abusive behavior.

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