Meta has made a change to the age requirement for its Quest headset users, allowing younger children to have their own account. The minimum age for a Meta account to use the virtual reality headset dropped from 13 to 10 years old, the company said in a blog post Friday.
Parents can create an account for their children and will have control over the apps they can download. Meta will also provide additional protections to these accounts from only showing age-appropriate apps to having the account automatically set to private and hidden from other users.
While VR continues to grow in popularity, there are concerns about kids using the technology, from content filters to the possibility of physical harm while wearing the headset. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a 2021 interview that he didn’t think Quest 2 was appropriate for children, saying, “I think it’s probably quite a ways off that we’d really build something like this.” Meta released parental controls for Quest headsets last year, including approving or blocking certain apps and observing the amount of headset screen time.
Meta’s current virtual reality headset is the $300 Quest 2, but the company already confirmed the Quest 3 will release later in the fall. The new hardware is expected to be a slimmer design, have new controllers and put a focus on mixed reality, which blends the VR world with the real world.
If you’re looking to buy a VR headset, check out CNET’s list of the best VR headsets of 2023. Apple’s recently announced $3,499 Vision Pro AR/VR headset won’t arrive until 2024, but there’s also the PlayStation VR 2 and the Valve Index to choose from.
