Facebook angers Oculus VR owners with Facebook login requirement

The wall between Oculus VR and Facebook is coming down. Starting in October, new Oculus virtual reality headset owners will have to log in with Facebook credentials instead of an Oculus VR account.

Existing Oculus VR owners have until Jan. 1, 2023, to use their Oculus VR user accounts, at which point they'll have to switch to Facebook. “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," the company wrote in a blog post.

As an example, the company said users who refuse to transition to Facebook risk losing access to certain games and apps. “This could be because they include features that require a Facebook account or because a developer has chosen to no longer support the app or game you purchased,” the company explained. 

To force the transition, the tech giant is also going to ensure all future unreleased Oculus products require a Facebook account. As for why the company is forcing the change, Facebook claims it’ll ultimately benefit consumers. 

“Giving people a single way to log into Oculus—using their Facebook account and password— will make it easier to find, connect, and play with friends in VR,” the company said. “We know that social VR has so much more to offer, and this change will make it possible to integrate many of the features people know and love on Facebook.” 

In addition, the company claims the majority of Oculus VR headset owners already log in via Facebook to take advantage of the social network’s virtual reality features. But Facebook also acknowledges the change will help it better target Oculus users with ads and recommendations on their Facebook accounts. 

“As we’ve previously shared, when you log into Oculus using your Facebook account, Facebook will use information related to your use of VR and other Facebook products to provide and improve your experience. This information is also used to show you personalized content, including ads,” the company wrote in the blog post. 

Perhaps to no one’s surprise, users are upset, given Facebook’s notorious reputation on privacy and data collection. On social media, customers are already vowing to abandon Oculus VR headsets for rival products. 

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The requirement to log in with a Facebook account also breaks a promise Oculus founder Palmer Luckey made to users when he agreed to sell the business to Facebook in 2014. "I guarantee that you won't need to log into your Facebook account every time you wanna use the Oculus Rift," he wrote in a Reddit post 6 years ago.

After today's announcement, Luckey chimed in and wrote: "I want to make clear that those promises were approved by Facebook in that moment and on an ongoing basis, and I really believed it would continue to be the case for a variety of reasons. In hindsight, the downvotes (on Reddit) from people with more real-world experience than me were definitely justified."

Luckey left Facebook in 2017 amid Facebook's ongoing efforts to take virtual reality to mainstream masses. However, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also prioritized making Oculus VR a social product rather than a mere conduit to enjoy games. 

To address consumer concerns, Facebook created an FAQ on the transition. The social network adds you can keep your Oculus VR activity private from your Facebook account.  

“When you log in with a Facebook account, you can still create or maintain a unique VR profile. And if you don’t want your Oculus friends to find you by your Facebook name, they won’t—just make it visible to ‘Only Me’ in your Oculus settings,” the company says. “You can also choose what information about your VR activity you post to your Facebook profile or timeline, either by giving permission to post or by updating your settings.”

Owners with an Oculus VR account will be able to merge it to a Facebook account starting in October.