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Oculus social features now require a linked Facebook account

nalex66
MVP
MVP
Apparently, starting today, Oculus social features (friends list, parties, visiting people's Oculus Homes) will now require a linked Facebook account. This was already the case for some apps like Venues, and some features, like accessing your phone's camera roll in the Quest gallery. Going forward, new social features will demand a Facebook account, and now existing features will too.

Starting today, when you choose to log into
Facebook from the Oculus Platform, you’ll be able to access new social
features that make it easier for you to connect with other people,
including:

  • Chats, so you can message your Oculus friends in or out of the headset with quick responses to hop into games together
  • Join your friends
    in VR directly from any device with links that open to where your
    friends are within an app, and see the most popular destinations where
    people are playing in VR
  • User-created Events, so you can organize meetups or multiplayer games with friends
  • Share photos, videos, and livestreaming to Facebook, allowing you to share your favorite moments to Facebook Groups from VR
  • Parties that any of your Oculus friends can join (previously parties were only invite-only)
  • Messenger friends can easily join you in VR when you send them links to join you where you’re playing

As
these changes roll out and we make it easier for people to connect and
build communities in VR, we’ll ask people to log into Facebook from the
Oculus Platform to use both the new social features above, as well as
existing social features like joining parties, adding friends, and
visiting other people’s Homes. These features are already powered by
Facebook, since Oculus is part of the Facebook family of apps. And now
first-party social interactions on the Oculus Platform will be backed by
Facebook identity, allowing us to help keep people safer in VR as we
grow the social VR ecosystem.


Personally, I'm not excited to see this, but I guess it's not surprising. I've never had a FB account, and haven't been interested in creating one, but we'll see how it goes--the obvious answer is to create one just for Oculus-related activity and not populate it with a lot of personally identifying information.

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3.


Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo
180 REPLIES 180

Anonymous
Not applicable

snowdog said:


Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:

It really isn't a problem tbh. Just create a dummy Facebook account. Job done.

I've always had my Facebook account linked with my Oculus account so it's not going to make any difference to me personally, but if you have a problem with it just create a dummy account and don't go near the thing ever again.

And anyone stressing out about the data that Facebook have access to is about 25 years too late. Google has probably known your inside leg measurement and what sort of porn you like to watch since the 90s.



I'm already using a fake last name on my last account, that's now dormant, because they don't actually let you delete your account anymore. So, with a 'new' fake account, what happens to all your previously purchased games, that are under your original 'authentic' Oculus account? That's what worries me. Or, if you can simply sign into Venues, without changing your Oculus account...alrighty then. Or if they let me make my original Facebook account invisible, then I'd be ok. But right now, if I reopen my account, I'd pop up on my friend's feeds, therefore, telling any stalkers I'm back online. Just imagine a battered woman, trying to stay hidden from an ex...should she be forced to open a Facebook account just to use an Oculus Quest? This is absolute bullshit.



An Oculus account != a Facebook account. They're separate things. Oculus/Facebook are saying that you need a Facebook account to be linked to your existing Oculus account to take part in online features in the future. So you stick with your current Oculus account that you're using, go to Facebook and create an account under an assumed name (Fred Bloggs) and link it to your Oculus account. So when you log in to your Oculus account it's associated with your dummy Facebook account.

If you're a battered woman then that ex will be looking for Mrs Jane Doe, not Mr Fred Bloggs.



It needed the same name as the Oculus account. I made a new FB account using a fake last name, then went to link my Oculus account to the FB account, and was greeted with a login, with my Oculus account name listed. They needed to match. So I then changed the last name on the new FB account to my real last name, then made it as invisible as possible...made sure everything modifiable was set to 'only me', including birth date and city I live.

As for the battered woman and a fake name...they found me with a fake name within 2 days. If you don't have friends, then that's fine, but as soon as you have friends, you show up in their feeds, and their list of friends. That's how they track you down.

Jedichica
Honored Guest
Bought a quest about 2 months ago and last week bought one for my sister who lives on the other side of the country. Tried to use the social features last night with her and I’m blocked from doing it without creating a Facebook account. I deactivated my account years ago for personal reasons and will not be reactivating it. 

For me, I accepted Facebook would have my data through my oculus account. i accepted i wouldn’t be able to use Facebook features. My issue is I want no part of being accessible to people via Facebook and I don’t want to be part of Facebook. 

Honestly have personally bought two of these and likely have sold 3 more for Oculus by showing it off to people.  this question comes up pretty often. Really disappointed right now. ?




Anonymous
Not applicable

Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:


Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:

It really isn't a problem tbh. Just create a dummy Facebook account. Job done.

I've always had my Facebook account linked with my Oculus account so it's not going to make any difference to me personally, but if you have a problem with it just create a dummy account and don't go near the thing ever again.

And anyone stressing out about the data that Facebook have access to is about 25 years too late. Google has probably known your inside leg measurement and what sort of porn you like to watch since the 90s.



I'm already using a fake last name on my last account, that's now dormant, because they don't actually let you delete your account anymore. So, with a 'new' fake account, what happens to all your previously purchased games, that are under your original 'authentic' Oculus account? That's what worries me. Or, if you can simply sign into Venues, without changing your Oculus account...alrighty then. Or if they let me make my original Facebook account invisible, then I'd be ok. But right now, if I reopen my account, I'd pop up on my friend's feeds, therefore, telling any stalkers I'm back online. Just imagine a battered woman, trying to stay hidden from an ex...should she be forced to open a Facebook account just to use an Oculus Quest? This is absolute bullshit.



An Oculus account != a Facebook account. They're separate things. Oculus/Facebook are saying that you need a Facebook account to be linked to your existing Oculus account to take part in online features in the future. So you stick with your current Oculus account that you're using, go to Facebook and create an account under an assumed name (Fred Bloggs) and link it to your Oculus account. So when you log in to your Oculus account it's associated with your dummy Facebook account.

If you're a battered woman then that ex will be looking for Mrs Jane Doe, not Mr Fred Bloggs.



It needed the same name as the Oculus account. I made a new FB account using a fake last name, then went to link my Oculus account to the FB account, and was greeted with a login, with my Oculus account name listed. They needed to match. So I then changed the last name on the new FB account to my real last name, then made it as invisible as possible...made sure everything modifiable was set to 'only me', including birth date and city I live.

As for the battered woman and a fake name...they found me with a fake name within 2 days. If you don't have friends, then that's fine, but as soon as you have friends, you show up in their feeds, and their list of friends. That's how they track you down.



It doesn't need the same name as your Oculus account as far as I remember. My Oculus account name is snowdog, my Facebook account name is Harv Setterfield.

Zenbane has created a second Facebook name without a problem.

And the whole point of setting up a dummy Facebook account is to NOT have any friends associated with it. Jane Doe's friends and Jane Doe's ex husband won't have a clue that Fred Bloggs exists if she doesn't tell anyone about it.

Am I missing something here?

Anonymous
Not applicable

snowdog said:


Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:


Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:

It really isn't a problem tbh. Just create a dummy Facebook account. Job done.

I've always had my Facebook account linked with my Oculus account so it's not going to make any difference to me personally, but if you have a problem with it just create a dummy account and don't go near the thing ever again.

And anyone stressing out about the data that Facebook have access to is about 25 years too late. Google has probably known your inside leg measurement and what sort of porn you like to watch since the 90s.



I'm already using a fake last name on my last account, that's now dormant, because they don't actually let you delete your account anymore. So, with a 'new' fake account, what happens to all your previously purchased games, that are under your original 'authentic' Oculus account? That's what worries me. Or, if you can simply sign into Venues, without changing your Oculus account...alrighty then. Or if they let me make my original Facebook account invisible, then I'd be ok. But right now, if I reopen my account, I'd pop up on my friend's feeds, therefore, telling any stalkers I'm back online. Just imagine a battered woman, trying to stay hidden from an ex...should she be forced to open a Facebook account just to use an Oculus Quest? This is absolute bullshit.



An Oculus account != a Facebook account. They're separate things. Oculus/Facebook are saying that you need a Facebook account to be linked to your existing Oculus account to take part in online features in the future. So you stick with your current Oculus account that you're using, go to Facebook and create an account under an assumed name (Fred Bloggs) and link it to your Oculus account. So when you log in to your Oculus account it's associated with your dummy Facebook account.

If you're a battered woman then that ex will be looking for Mrs Jane Doe, not Mr Fred Bloggs.



It needed the same name as the Oculus account. I made a new FB account using a fake last name, then went to link my Oculus account to the FB account, and was greeted with a login, with my Oculus account name listed. They needed to match. So I then changed the last name on the new FB account to my real last name, then made it as invisible as possible...made sure everything modifiable was set to 'only me', including birth date and city I live.

As for the battered woman and a fake name...they found me with a fake name within 2 days. If you don't have friends, then that's fine, but as soon as you have friends, you show up in their feeds, and their list of friends. That's how they track you down.



It doesn't need the same name as your Oculus account as far as I remember. My Oculus account name is snowdog, my Facebook account name is Harv Setterfield.

Zenbane has created a second Facebook name without a problem.

And the whole point of setting up a dummy Facebook account is to NOT have any friends associated with it. Jane Doe's friends and Jane Doe's ex husband won't have a clue that Fred Bloggs exists if she doesn't tell anyone about it.

Am I missing something here?



When I linked my account, I did it through the Oculus app on the pc. I guess I made a mistake somewhere then.

As for the Jane Doe and her ex...the whole point of being on Facebook is to interact with friends and family. As soon as she changes her account, and reconnects with her friends, it shows on their feed as X just became friends with Y. Then if your stalker knows you, they know your friends. They just have to wait and see when your friends all become friends with the same person again.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:


Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:


Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:

It really isn't a problem tbh. Just create a dummy Facebook account. Job done.

I've always had my Facebook account linked with my Oculus account so it's not going to make any difference to me personally, but if you have a problem with it just create a dummy account and don't go near the thing ever again.

And anyone stressing out about the data that Facebook have access to is about 25 years too late. Google has probably known your inside leg measurement and what sort of porn you like to watch since the 90s.



I'm already using a fake last name on my last account, that's now dormant, because they don't actually let you delete your account anymore. So, with a 'new' fake account, what happens to all your previously purchased games, that are under your original 'authentic' Oculus account? That's what worries me. Or, if you can simply sign into Venues, without changing your Oculus account...alrighty then. Or if they let me make my original Facebook account invisible, then I'd be ok. But right now, if I reopen my account, I'd pop up on my friend's feeds, therefore, telling any stalkers I'm back online. Just imagine a battered woman, trying to stay hidden from an ex...should she be forced to open a Facebook account just to use an Oculus Quest? This is absolute bullshit.



An Oculus account != a Facebook account. They're separate things. Oculus/Facebook are saying that you need a Facebook account to be linked to your existing Oculus account to take part in online features in the future. So you stick with your current Oculus account that you're using, go to Facebook and create an account under an assumed name (Fred Bloggs) and link it to your Oculus account. So when you log in to your Oculus account it's associated with your dummy Facebook account.

If you're a battered woman then that ex will be looking for Mrs Jane Doe, not Mr Fred Bloggs.



It needed the same name as the Oculus account. I made a new FB account using a fake last name, then went to link my Oculus account to the FB account, and was greeted with a login, with my Oculus account name listed. They needed to match. So I then changed the last name on the new FB account to my real last name, then made it as invisible as possible...made sure everything modifiable was set to 'only me', including birth date and city I live.

As for the battered woman and a fake name...they found me with a fake name within 2 days. If you don't have friends, then that's fine, but as soon as you have friends, you show up in their feeds, and their list of friends. That's how they track you down.



It doesn't need the same name as your Oculus account as far as I remember. My Oculus account name is snowdog, my Facebook account name is Harv Setterfield.

Zenbane has created a second Facebook name without a problem.

And the whole point of setting up a dummy Facebook account is to NOT have any friends associated with it. Jane Doe's friends and Jane Doe's ex husband won't have a clue that Fred Bloggs exists if she doesn't tell anyone about it.

Am I missing something here?



When I linked my account, I did it through the Oculus app on the pc. I guess I made a mistake somewhere then.

As for the Jane Doe and her ex...the whole point of being on Facebook is to interact with friends and family. As soon as she changes her account, and reconnects with her friends, it shows on their feed as X just became friends with Y. Then if your stalker knows you, they know your friends. They just have to wait and see when your friends all become friends with the same person again.



This is why Jane Doe needs to make a DUMMY account. She can keep her Jane Doe account with all of her friends intact and create a separate account under the name of Fred Bloggs. Zenbane has done it so I can't see why Jane Doe can't do the same.

Anonymous
Not applicable

snowdog said:


Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:


Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:


Spuzzum said:


snowdog said:

It really isn't a problem tbh. Just create a dummy Facebook account. Job done.

I've always had my Facebook account linked with my Oculus account so it's not going to make any difference to me personally, but if you have a problem with it just create a dummy account and don't go near the thing ever again.

And anyone stressing out about the data that Facebook have access to is about 25 years too late. Google has probably known your inside leg measurement and what sort of porn you like to watch since the 90s.



I'm already using a fake last name on my last account, that's now dormant, because they don't actually let you delete your account anymore. So, with a 'new' fake account, what happens to all your previously purchased games, that are under your original 'authentic' Oculus account? That's what worries me. Or, if you can simply sign into Venues, without changing your Oculus account...alrighty then. Or if they let me make my original Facebook account invisible, then I'd be ok. But right now, if I reopen my account, I'd pop up on my friend's feeds, therefore, telling any stalkers I'm back online. Just imagine a battered woman, trying to stay hidden from an ex...should she be forced to open a Facebook account just to use an Oculus Quest? This is absolute bullshit.



An Oculus account != a Facebook account. They're separate things. Oculus/Facebook are saying that you need a Facebook account to be linked to your existing Oculus account to take part in online features in the future. So you stick with your current Oculus account that you're using, go to Facebook and create an account under an assumed name (Fred Bloggs) and link it to your Oculus account. So when you log in to your Oculus account it's associated with your dummy Facebook account.

If you're a battered woman then that ex will be looking for Mrs Jane Doe, not Mr Fred Bloggs.



It needed the same name as the Oculus account. I made a new FB account using a fake last name, then went to link my Oculus account to the FB account, and was greeted with a login, with my Oculus account name listed. They needed to match. So I then changed the last name on the new FB account to my real last name, then made it as invisible as possible...made sure everything modifiable was set to 'only me', including birth date and city I live.

As for the battered woman and a fake name...they found me with a fake name within 2 days. If you don't have friends, then that's fine, but as soon as you have friends, you show up in their feeds, and their list of friends. That's how they track you down.



It doesn't need the same name as your Oculus account as far as I remember. My Oculus account name is snowdog, my Facebook account name is Harv Setterfield.

Zenbane has created a second Facebook name without a problem.

And the whole point of setting up a dummy Facebook account is to NOT have any friends associated with it. Jane Doe's friends and Jane Doe's ex husband won't have a clue that Fred Bloggs exists if she doesn't tell anyone about it.

Am I missing something here?



When I linked my account, I did it through the Oculus app on the pc. I guess I made a mistake somewhere then.

As for the Jane Doe and her ex...the whole point of being on Facebook is to interact with friends and family. As soon as she changes her account, and reconnects with her friends, it shows on their feed as X just became friends with Y. Then if your stalker knows you, they know your friends. They just have to wait and see when your friends all become friends with the same person again.



This is why Jane Doe needs to make a DUMMY account. She can keep her Jane Doe account with all of her friends intact and create a separate account under the name of Fred Bloggs. Zenbane has done it so I can't see why Jane Doe can't do the same.



Well, the idea was to delete the first account, then create a new account. Never thought of it that way. Especially since that would require a new email, which would be a hassle. For a throw away account just for vr, sure, but not for real life. Unless you forwarded any FB messages to that email account to your real email.

Anonymous
Not applicable
btw...Eric For President says he had similar issues trying to link a FB account with a different email as well, so it wasn't just me.

NeloDiavolo
Protege
None too pleased that this is happening. Good thing my only friend on Oculus is all I need. Going forward I think I will just play my single player experiences and Multiplayer games with my only friend that are in my library. I may pick up a title or two for my Rift and Quest here and there ,but I have no intention to link a Facebook account.

And just yesterday a Facebook employee had several hard drives stolen from their car. And guess what, those drives were not encrypted! While the drives only contained employee information, if this is how they treat sensitive data for people who work for them, I have no faith in their ability to keep our info safe. 

Like the other person said, it has been a good run. But I already have a decent VR library on Steam and most likely jump ship to Steam VR hardware in the coming year. 

Zenbane
MVP
MVP

snowdog said:
This is why Jane Doe needs to make a DUMMY account. She can keep her Jane Doe account with all of her friends intact and create a separate account under the name of Fred Bloggs. Zenbane has done it so I can't see why Jane Doe can't do the same.



Yep! My accounts are linked, with two entirely different names. My Zenbane account on Oculus has one name (e.g. John Wick) and my dummy Facebook account has an entirely different name (e.g. Clark Kent).

It linked just fine.

Riotsu
Protege
Facebook has been going downhill for years now, and since they acquired oculus it is going down with it.  They aren't pulling this off for social convenience or for our "safety," they're doing this to turn gamers into products who's data they can trade with any business that will buy the information.  Facebook has been doing a great job of guaranteeing I don't purchase anymore oculus products.