Christmas day has come and the evidence suggests that Quest 2 was a hot gift item this year. While it may have inspired screams of joy, it turns out that kids under 13 years old aren’t actually allowed to use the headset according to Facebook. That leaves parents in the awkward position of either handing over their own Facebook account credentials or being stuck with an unusable headset.

If you’re a parent who picked up Quest 2 for a child under 13 years old, you may have hoped to be this year’s holiday hero, but unfortunately once the box is opened and the headset turned on, Facebook will foil those plans. That’s because of the recent requirement that Quest 2 and other Oculus headsets be connected to a valid Facebook account and the company doesn’t allow Facebook accounts to be made by children under 13 years old.

The 13 year old limitation is seen across many account services which are required to use various gadgets, but it is easily overruled by parents who may choose to use their own accounts to activate devices for their kids, or just tell their kids to fudge their age when signing up for their own account.

However, Facebook is fairly unique because the company insists that the age on the account matches that of the user and will proactively shut down accounts if it finds out otherwise. It states very clearly, “Creating an account with false info is a violation of our terms. This includes accounts registered on the behalf of someone under 13. […] Note that we’ll promptly delete the account of any child under the age of 13 that’s reported to us […]”

In some cases the company has gone as far as locking accounts and asking users to send photos of government-issued identification to verify their name and age.

The company also prohibits “sharing accounts between multiple people,” which makes it technically against the rules for parents to log into the headset with their own account for their child to use. Although the company says it has plans to eventually include multi-user support on Quest 2, each user will still require their own unique Facebook account (and still must be 13 years old or older).

Of course, parents who deem it ok for their kids to use the headset can probably skirt these rules, but the risk remains that Facebook finds out about it, locks the account, and limits the functionality of a headset which may have cost between $300 and $400. Though the greater risk, perhaps, is an inconsolable child who can no longer use their shiny new gadget.

SEE ALSO
'Clamb' is a VR Game With Sledgehammer Locomotion, Which is Just as Insane as it Sounds

And let’s not forget the imposition of giving a young child access to your Facebook account through the headset—which would allow them to share screenshots, videos, and livestreams of their VR activities to your Facebook community.

It’s hard to blame any parent that runs into this trap. While the headset’s product pages generally include “Facebook account required” somewhere in the verbiage, can anyone blame customers for not knowing that Facebook accounts only are for people 13 and older? Even if they happened to spot the “age 13 and up” fine print (which is not always included) should parents be expected to know that this is an enforced rule, which could lead to the headset becoming unusable, rather than a manufacturer’s suggestion?

It is a common misconception that the 13 year old limitation is due to unknown health risks for younger children using VR headsets. The primary reason is because of the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which defines special rules for online companies that collect information about children under 13 years old. Facebook, like many other companies, chooses to simply not allow children under 13 onto its services rather than open itself up to COPPA liability. So even though there’s plenty of Quest 2 games that can be played entirely offline with no data being sent to or from the headset, the Facebook account requirement imposes an age limit on Quest 2 by proxy.

Newsletter graphic

This article may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product we may receive a small commission which helps support the publication. More information.


Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • shadow9d9

    I really don’t understand this article. Everywhere else says that having multiple devices on one account is fine. https://vrscout.com/news/oculus-account-multiple-headsets-ban/

    • VR5

      That doesn’t contradict anything stated in the article though.

    • Rogue Transfer

      Multiple devices on one account is fine(so one person can own two or more headsets using their personal Facebook acount), but multiple people sharing one Facebook account breaks the T&C(section 3.1: “Not … give access to your Facebook account to others”).

      From your article link, this is clearly implied when they say: “As for the customer’s question about enabling their guest to use their secondary device, we plan to introduce the ability for multiple users to log into the same device using their own Facebook account.” I.e. It’s not allowed to have multiple users logged in(e.g. a guest) through one person’s Facebook account, but a guest needs to wait until they have the option to log-in with their own account. Nothing contradicts what RoadToVR has said.

  • Kojack

    Oculus has had use by under 13 year olds as a terms of service violation since the CV1 came out, so its not a new thing. Now we have the facebook restriction added on as well.

    • VR5

      IPD is another thing to consider here. Under 13 year olds might not be accommodated by the available IPD options.

      But the problem remains that parents might not be aware of these considerations beforehand (IPD and FB ToS).

      • fragments_of_a_hologram_rose

        Typical pupillary distances for children’s ages

        42 to 48mm (1 – 2.5 years)
        48 to 52mm (2.5 – 4 years)
        53 to 55mm (4 – 7 years)
        56 to 58mm (7 – 10 years)
        58 to 62mm (10 – 16 years)

    • benz145

      The difference is two-fold. First far fewer children under 13 would own a Rift CV1 given its $600 introductory price ($800 including touch) + the need for a powerful gaming PC. Quest 2 is far more likely to wind up in the hands of someone under 13.

      Second, while Rift headsets weren’t *supposed* to be used by kids under 13, as far as we know, Oculus accounts themselves weren’t previously subject to the same real identity/name/age requirements and potential verification as Facebook accounts, which means parents could make an account for their kid or share their own account with their kid if they chose to without any likely recourse.

      • Kojack

        True, not many under 13s would own a Rift, but the terms of service (since march 2016) say that even using the system by an under 13 (not just ownership) is a violation and they can terminate your license.
        Sure, they’ve never enforced it that I know of (unlike facebook accounts), but it’s still been (an overlooked) part of the TOS for the last 4 years.

        • Still does not excuse facebook from ruining the holidays/xmas for a kid.

        • Stefan

          There was really no way for them to know wether an account was created for a child under 13 or not, and no way of finding out during use. As stated above, the 13y-threshold is part of many ToS because of US regulatory law.

    • Dahamma

      You do realize that Facebook bought Oculus TWO YEARS before the CV1 came out? Ex-CEO Brendan Iribe was even quoted as saying Facebook’s requirement is the reason CV1 was launching that specific age requirement:

      ““We put a warning on right when you put it on and the age of 13 was something that made a lot of sense when we became a part of Facebook, their age is 13 as well. And so we just felt ‘let’s start at 13, let’s evolve the technology more, let’s build more confidence, in the health and safety side of it. And eventually, one day, we definitely want to have Oculus for kids, especially for all the educational use of this.”

      Of course Iribe eventually resigned because of Facebook’s meddling, and they have never changed the age since it’s now tied to COPPA concerns.

  • Thomas

    Oh God how I hate Facebook.
    I cannot fathom why people would buy an Quest and sell their soul to Facebook, with the added constant risk of them shutting down you account for no reason at all.

    • RL

      I bought the firsy oculus quest before they started this requirement..I ended up creating fake accounts. As soon as a competitor releases a tetherless one, that works on steam, I’ll chuck the oculus in the trash.

      • Hivemind9000

        If you have a fake account, then why chuck it in the trash? Seems overly dramatic.

        • Meow

          because if you cannot prove the account is real at random date then you lose anything bought with it.

      • Gato Satanista

        Me too. Only waiting for a competitor to show up and fuck Quest and facebook. For now, I am giving my soul and data to facebook.

        • Monkey

          I’ve just got a Quest 2, but rather than giving my soul and data to Facebook to use the VR, it has encouraged me to stop using FB for anything else and to clear down my account completely.

          If Facebook want my VR info so badly, they can have it the expense of ‘all’ the other data they normally collect.

          I’m pretty certain keeping FB users active and collecting normal FB data is way more important to them, so if everyone did this they might think again.

    • Kaynin

      I dont understand why people keep using it for buying shit affiliated with that trash company.

    • Nl_VR

      Because of VR of course.
      Se all Love VR and want it to grow.

      Some People in this site “hate” Facebook/Oculus more then they Love VR.
      I dont mean Facebook is Good or anything but you really should shift Focus and se that Facebook is not only bad for VR.
      The bad thing is that Facebook is dominating and others dont Bring competition.
      Look att HP, the G2 is a Good hmd but its not a Good VR headset for a VR newcomer. On that front HP failed (again).
      The competition need to step Up!

    • Joey Jo Jo

      Because I had no idea that buying a peice of hardware would intrinisically link my child to facebook. Why would it?

  • Honestly speaking, there actually is a suggested age for starting using VR. The DK2 initially had 7 years as a limit. When too young, children have difficulties in understanding what is real and what is not, so a limit is actually to be enforced.

    • Dharma Galaxy

      Physicists also have difficulties in understanding what is real and what is not. Your point?

      • Trip

        Bwahaha! NICE!

      • Johnny Rudick

        Yet they and their worshipers want to decide in the parents place what is right for their children.

        • Dharma Galaxy

          Feels like a good moment to reply to this.

          Other than agreeing with you I have nothing to say.

        • Dharma Galaxy

          I do believe that is what they were originally asked to do by said parents. I don’t know whether they are actually doing as requested.

    • Andy Prokhorov

      Анр 5yo and probably even 2yo would easily tell a real candy from the fake one.

    • Monkey

      The age limit was pulled out of a hat, as the manufacturers were worried about being sued ‘if’ something happened to a child’s developing eyes, but had no actual evidence that it might be dangerous as no studies had been done.

      Pretty certain the current opinion of most optometrists is that VR headsets should be no more damaging than TV.

  • Lulu Vi Britannia

    Omg, if only there was a solution to this soooo complicated situation! Like, I don’t know… using the PARENT’S account?
    And no, using your own account for your kid does NOT mean it “would allow them to share screenshots, videos, and livestreams of their VR activities to your Facebook community.” You can disable all of that.

    Props to you to make a completely anti-Facebook news. SO professional, guys. It’s also complete misinformation. Don’t use your website to spread YOUR narrative.

    • Stefan

      Facebook may decide that you share your account based on it regularly being used at the same time in different locations. Then it may be just gone forever, purchased content included.

      I suggest not doing this.

    • RL

      That isn’t the point. The point is that in order to play this, you must create a Facebook account. They are using a gaming platform to continue growing facebook. It’s one thing if they gave the oculus for free or the games, then you are giving something in return, but here, you are paying for the product and games, and still they want your information to bombard you with ads.

    • Have fun getting your account locked or watching someone else acc get locked cause their kid used it cause you told them they can do this cause you are illiterate.

      • Andrew Jakobs

        What you’re saying is just utter bullshit. Facebook does not prevent you from having other people use your headset with the connected account.

        • benz145

          They may not prevent it, but if they find out they reserve the right to take action on the account.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            You mean just like every other company has it in their licenses (which almost no-one reads), Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Valve. All reserve the right to take action on an account if they think it’s being misused not in line with their license.. Facebook isn’t special in that regard..

          • Bob

            They reserve the right but are they willing to lose customers and take a hit to their ecosystem just because? We’re grasping at straws here.

            But good going Ben. You made an article and it turned out exactly the way you wanted it.

        • cHILDREN UNDER 13

          • Andrew Jakobs

            No they prevent children under 13 from having their own account, that’s something completely different.

    • benz145

      As stated in the article, Facebook considers someone using an account that is not theirs, or someone using a fake account, to be against the rules. And we have seen the company proactively enforce those rules to lock people out of their accounts until proof can be provided. They even have a way to report accounts being used by people under 13 years old and state, “we’ll promptly delete the account of any child under the age of 13 that’s reported to us.”

      I’m also not aware of any way to prevent someone inside a Quest headset from sharing photos/videos/livestreams via the built-in sharing tools to the associated Facebook account. If you go to Facebook.com in the Oculus Browser, IIRC it also automatically logs into the Facebook account connected to the headset.

      So it puts parents in an awkward position in any case, which is the point of the article.

      • Andrew Jakobs

        Sorry, but you’re wrong, facebook doesn’t consider children using the headset with the account of the parent as against the rules, nor does it consider it for when you play with multiple friends at your home with the headset.
        Yes, they will delete the account if they find out the account was created by/for a child under 13, but that’s not the problem here.
        So it doesn’t put the parent in an awkward position.

        • benz145

          And let’s not forget the imposition of giving a young child access to your Facebook account through the headset—which would allow them to share screenshots, videos, and livestreams of their VR activities to your Facebook community.

        • Stefan

          Yes, they will delete the account if they find out the account was
          created by/for a child under 13, but that’s not the problem here.

          So where will Facebook draw the line? They would be very well in their terms of service limits to delete a parent’s account when that is regularly accessed by their child via the Quest. Maybe they currently do, maybe they don’t, but that’s not the point here.

          But yeah, you like Facebook and they can’t do wrong. We get it.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            I don’t like Facebook (at least not in the way you suggest) and they can do more then enough wrong, but they don’t do everything wrong, and people like you are making them to the all evil. Yeah we get it you hate Facebook to the core…

        • Monkey

          “Sorry, but you’re wrong, facebook doesn’t consider children using the headset with the account of the parent as against the rules”

          You keep saying this, but could you provide actual evidence of this, because if I look in the FB TOS (https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms), under Section 3 “Your commitments to Facebook and our community”, it quite clearly states the contrary.
          It says you must not ‘give access to your Facebook account to others’.

          Letting someone else use the Quest whilst it is signed in as you is giving someone else access to your account.
          It’s quite clearly a breach of their TOS.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            So according to you you can get your account banned because someonelse is using the Quest….. which doesn’t have a capability of connecting to another account without a full factoryreset….
            There is a difference between actively using another persons account to post to the social media site or use the headset with the same account on different games…

          • Monkey

            Not according to me, according to Facebook’s TOS.

            You say there is a difference between using another’s account to post and to play games.
            Yes, you and I agree there, but the TOS do not make a difference between the two and simply says you can not share the account. Letting someone play on games on your account IS sharing your account.

            It also doesn’t matter if it’s hard or even impossible to change the account on the Quest. That doesn’t magically invalidate FB’s TOS.
            Yes, it makes the TOS stupid… bit they are what they are, and FB ‘could’ enforce it if they wanted to.
            Personally, I don’t think they would, but it’s the fact they could that is most concerning here.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Just read the marketing for the Quest, they even promote it to use it with friends and family……..

  • I don’t want to be the one defending Facebook here but Oculus’ EULA and the instructions you must go through at the beginning have always included the 13 years as the limit. Mostly for legal but also health reasons.

    It has also purely practical reasons – if you have tried to put an adult-sized HMD (i.e. all of them) on the head of an 8-10 year old kid then unless they have an unusually large head t you will know it doesn’t fit, doesn’t stay in place and it is difficult to avoid eyestrain because the lenses are too far apart for comfortable viewing.

    See here, explanation directly from the Oculus ex-CEO Iribe from 2015:
    https://www.vrfocus.com/2015/06/oculus-rift-age-limit/

    That is not new in any way.

    Of course, nobody reads that stuff. Same as ESRB rating on games people buy to their kids – like my sister, who is against violent games, buying GTA 5 to my 8 years old nephew, because she thought it was “about cars” …). And then people are outraged when someone actually decides to enforce the rules.

    But bashing Facebook as the Grinch who stole Christmas is easier and generates more clicks, of course – everybody hates Facebook.

    • Stefan

      You may have read the article first: the problem here is the actual implementation of a parent’s decision to overrule the suggested age. With Oculus accounts, just creating one for your kid is no hassle. You can even create a PIN for stored credit card info, so they can’t just buy stuff. With Facebook accounts, that’s a completely different story.

      • Trip

        If you can’t keep your kids from making purchases without permission that’s a parenting problem not a Facebook problem. Aside from that, telling them they can use the Quest on your account has no other issues that I can find. You don’t even have to log in more than just once.

        • You’re really not thinking hard enough if you can’t find any other issues.

        • Stefan

          You can’t find ’em with your eyes closed and hands over your ears, true enough.

    • The difference is people had a CHOICE with that. If parents wanted to let their kids play a Rift CV1 when it launched then there was nothing stopping them.

      Seriously, I can’t even imagine how I would have felt if I weren’t allowed to play seminal gaming and entertainment consoles like the NES, Genesis, SNES, N64 and PlayStation back in the day when they came out because I needed some random account where I had to be over 13, especially if that’s the system I’d unwrapped on Christmas Day.

      Utterly ridiculous.

      • KodaiRyu

        Zucker obviously don’t know about GDPR, we european union citizen are LEGALLY ALLOWED to fake accounts if we think site don’t respect and protect our privacy. Also there were no 13 age limitation for Oculus when i got one, there were only minimum head size limitation, if headset were too big to kid you weren’t allowed to let them play with it.

        • Jistuce

          I think Zuckerberg just doesn’t CARE about GDPR. That’s different than not knowing about it.

          • fragments_of_a_hologram_rose

            And that is why Oculus currently cannot retail headsets in Germany, there is legal action underway

        • Monkey

          Even if you are legally allowed to make fake accounts, I’m pretty certain FB are legally allowed to close them too.

          Having a FB account is not a legal protected right.

          Something just needs to be done to break FB away from Oculus.
          Hopefully one of the many lawsuits will.

    • Dahamma

      This is all nonsense and incorrect. The article you linked literally says the reason Oculus chose 13 BECAUSE OF FACEBOOK: “We put a warning on right when you put it on and the age of 13 was something that made a lot of sense when we became a part of Facebook, their age is 13 as well. And so we just felt ‘let’s start at 13″

      Plus that article was written before the Rift even launched, ie. before mainstream VR even existed. It’s been 5 years since and show me a single plausible article showing developmental damage to children using VR.

      My nephews have used several different VR headsets just fine since they were 7-8. My friend’s 6 year old had a ball playing the PSVR as well.

      Facebook deserves bashing for the horrible way they have handled the account requirement. There are literally thousands of reports of people having their accounts suspended or deleted for no reason whatsoever, and Facebook’s only defense is “millions of fake accounts a day get created so sometimes our algorithms get it wrong”.

    • Amni3D

      “health reasons”

      Not really. Nintendo also had a similar 13 or up recommended age range for the 3DS, but they weren’t going to ban people for it. The way the age gate is being treated on Facebook/ Quest is due to the recent legal shift regarding data collection from people under 13, not “safety guidelines”. Meanwhile PSVR and SteamVR doesn’t have this issue because they are not a data company. This is a data thing, and is only harmful to Facebook being a data company.

      “But bashing Facebook as the Grinch who stole Christmas is easier and generates more clicks”

      Name one system that requires you to send a legal identification to play video games. That’s the heart of this colossal mess. It was never “anti Facebook propaganda” (as if you’d need propaganda to be anti Facebook when the CEO called its userbase “dumb fucks” for trusting him). It’s the people that made the mistake of buying these products complaining here.

  • TechPassion

    VR is not a toy. For children under 10 or 11, there should be parents present nearby. Also from physical safety point of view. I think 12+ should be normally allowed.

    • RL

      Dumb comment. I have three kids, ranging from 6 to 15. They all use it just fine with zero issues.

      • Bob

        “They all use it just fine with zero issues.”

        Zero issues presently. Future? For the 6 year old on continued daily usage? Not so much.

        Thing about parents is that they don’t complain until it becomes a problem. Case in point: You letting your 6 year old frequently use the device which has been scientifically proven to adversely affect eyesight development through prolonged use at an early age. Go google it.

        Moral of the story is – don’t go complaining to Facebook if your child develops vision issues at a later age because they didn’t warn you about it. They clearly did. So that’s their job done.
        Bash me all you want about “loving Facebook” or “kissing Facebook’s arse” but let’s be honest here it’s not the first time we’ve encountered issues where Parents are the dumb ones.

        • I think you are lying to say it’s been scientifically proven to adversely affect eyesight development. From what I have read, nothing has been proven conclusively either way, and many papers actually suggest using VR could in fact help with eyesight development.

          • Hivemind9000

            You are conflating two quite different issues. VR has been proven to cause eye strain due to vergence-accommodation conflict. Children’s eyes (and the parts of their brain that process vision) are developing quite rapidly up to around 15-16 years old. So there is a distinct risk that extended use may cause developmental issues with their vision.

            We are only just getting to the point where VR is becoming cheap and pervasive (esp. with Quest 2), and buying a VR headset for your child for them to use unmonitored for hours on end is starting to become more common. You are right, nothing is proven conclusively yet, and cannot really be proven until there is a correlative up-tick in young adult vision issues in the next 5-10 years.

            So, as a parent, do you want to take the risk with your children’s eyesight? Personally I’d rather mine use it in short bursts as a novelty, not as way to consume all their media (esp. with Facebook’s oversight). Their eyes are their window to the world, so (for me) are not worth risking. They can VR all they like when they are older.

          • Well we know VR causes some eye strain because of its limitations (vergence accommodation and so on), but that does not mean it will damage anyone’s eyes over time, or at least not more so than any other device or display that strains your eyes if you look at it for a while, like the overly bright TV I’m looking at right now as I type. So I’m not personally worried about this.

        • Dahamma

          This is incorrect. There are no studies making any conclusions on long term issues for VR since there is no such thing – consumer VR has only existed since around 2016, and it was very niche until recently. 3-4 years is not long term.

          The only studies have been on short term, temporary visual or balance disturbances that have gone away in a matter of minutes. They are the same issues adults face. No study has extrapolated that to permanent issues because that would be irresponsible and has no proof yet.

      • Hivemind9000

        The jury is still out as to whether children under the age of 15-16 should use VR as their eyes/eyesight is still developing (and VR puts unnatural stress on the eyes – e.g. eye strain due to vergence-accommodation conflict). Giving them a headset and allowing them to use it unmonitored for hours on end (vs allowing them to use VR in short bursts), is risking future issues with their eyesight. Time will tell as to how resilient children’s eyesight is against this sort of use.

        So, not a dumb comment.

    • Kevin White

      VR is kind of a toy.

      • Mei Ling

        Sure it is. Like the Varjo XR-2 or the XTAL, throw in the Hololens too because technically you put something over your head and you’re looking at some sort of display. It’s very much designed for kids.

        • Kevin White

          But see, I was basically objecting to the idea that a “toy” is only something that children would use. VR is most certainly a toy for me. My game console is a toy for me. Steam is a toy. My Ninja 400 motorcycle is a toy. My Casio WK-7600 is a toy. My SW22 Victory plinker is a toy. My 3D printer is a toy. :o)

    • Dahamma

      VR is a technology with many uses. Consumer VR headsets are absolutely toys, are you kidding? PSVR is literally PlayStation VR. See the “Play” part there? As in games. As in toys.

      Same with any Steam or Oculus capable headset. 95% of the apps on those stores are… GAMES.

      • Andrew Jakobs

        It still can be a toy, but just not for children… A dildo or a fleshlighte are also toys, but I hope you don’t think they are appropriate for children.

    • Andy Prokhorov

      And PC is not a toy, and bicycle is not a toy, and crayon is not a toy, and even spoon is not a toy.

    • Ad

      VR is not a toy when you’re trying to convince your friends you’re not wasting your life developing Lizard Simulator VR, but it is a toy when your friends ask if Facebook shouldn’t have total control of it.

    • Jonathan Winters III

      It should be simple: under 13 is allowed but with parental guidance.

  • Dharma Galaxy

    I bought a Quest 1 right before the Pandemic. In a couple of years I’ll buy anything other than another Oculus.

  • Bob

    Two sides of the coin here. First being Facebook’s iron grip on their own platform and hardware and the way they’re doing it to save their own skins which is deplorable to say the least. Second being parents acting irresponsibly and gifting one of these to a 6 year old thinking it’s a toy and nothing else, and that nothing bad will happen to their vision further down the road. Both parties are in the wrong.

    Facebook should have approached this differently that doesn’t include bricking your device permanently just because you broke the rules once, but at the same time they should have invested some of their millions into making it very clear that their hardware shouldn’t be used by a certain age group and actually go out of their way to educate the people about the harmful effects of VR devices to very young children.

    But the reality is: Facebook will not do something similar to what I suggested, and parents that are fully aware of the terms (13+ only) will continue to be ignorant and let a child use the device without moderation.

  • Draylynn

    To be honest, I just got my Oculus switched out for an Index (full kit). Ignoring the price, the Index is a lot less cluttery, comfy and reactive, less treading cables and easy sensor setup. It also comes with a pad that you slide at the back, for smaller heads, unlike Oculus stuff.
    New Oculus users need to watch out for the dodgy controllers too, mine failed in <2 months with a design defect, support were less than helpful and I got lumbered with faulty controllers for the rest of the year, the headphones failed in <6months due to again, another design problem in the back headset band.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      I guess your talking about the Oculus Rift headset, because in no way the Index is much easier and less cluttery to setup then a Quest.. And there are also many people complaining about failing Index controllers, so they aren’t as sturdy too.

      • fragments_of_a_hologram_rose

        Index launch day owner here, multiple RMA’s for controllers and ear speakers amongst other parts

        • Andrew Jakobs

          I wonder how many of the ear speakers will fail on the HP Reverb G2 as it’s using the same type.

          • fragments_of_a_hologram_rose

            G2 ear speaker has a different mounting arm with less adjustment than Index BMR ear speaker, but sharing the same “pogopin” connection to headsets headstrap mounting.

            My ear speaker RMA’s have been for this adjustment mechanism developing free play, allowing speaker pod to vibrate at higher volumes, and also RMAs for crackling.

  • marcandrdsilets

    Here’s a good occasion to repeat the same drama we have been reading since september. Good job road2vr, but we get it now, it’s of we get it, we need a facebook login , it’s alright.

    • The moral here is that you cant get around the age restrictions w/o risk of acc being locked.

      But you cant read so w/e.

      • marcandrdsilets

        Facebook Account and wireless internet required for use. Age 13 and up. Written on the box and when you buy the product on their web page.

        But you cant read so w/e.

        • YOu jus proved my point and proved you cant read well :)

  • wheeler

    I wonder if they’re just going to look the other way on this. As far as I can tell, all multiplayer games cross compatible with Quest are now overrun with squeakers

  • Nothing to see here

    While this is obviously yet another FB clusterflub, it is interesting that there has never been an outcry over how many little kids are playing games like Grand Theft Auto V Online. I am not sure that leaving the decision of what a kid can play entirely up to their parents is a good thing. My sense is that many parents just can’t be bothered about what their kids play, just as long as they go away and leave them alone.

    • Has the outcry not come from politicians prior to the age gate.

      I remember Gov Arnold Swa..(terminator) made a big fuss over it trying to sign a law in California.

  • Trip

    Come on RoadtoVR, I love you guys but quit it with the borderline clickbait anti-facebook articles. I know plenty of people with Quest 2’s already for their kids under 13. It’s no big deal to hand a kid a HMD that is already logged in and let them play games. It’s not like you even have to give them your password…. I strongly dislike Facebook, but these recent articles are wildly exaggerating the issues.

    • So facebook isnt locking accounts that children are using?

      • Mei Ling

        Give me one example that this happened.

        • And what happens when they catch the kid or kid gets reported for this?

          Even with video evidence.

      • Andrew Jakobs

        This is not what Trip says, Trip says you can easily give you kid the headset you are logged in as a parent, it only becomes a problem for the kid when it logs out of the account.

        • And what happens when they catch the kid or kid gets reported for this?

          Even with video evidence.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Nothing, as it’s not a problem to have someone else use your headset with your account.

          • Ad

            Horizon moderators will ban your account.

          • Monkey

            FB prohibits the sharing of accounts between multiple people.

            So if you are letting a child use your account to play or the Quest, you are sharing your account.

            As such, you are breaking FB TOS and they ‘could’ lock your account if they found out.

            I think it’s highly unlikely to happen, but denying it is a problem is wrong.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Good luck switching accounts on an original Quest….. So that alone makes it all bullshit for locking your account because the rest of the family is using the headset for playing the games…

  • just one more problem with requiring a mandatory Facebook account simply to use the dang headset.

    Seriously, I can’t even imagine how I would have felt if I weren’t allowed to play seminal gaming and entertainment consoles like the NES, Genesis, SNES, N64 and PlayStation back in the day when they came out because I needed some random account where I had to be over 13, especially if that’s the system I’d unwrapped on Christmas Day.

    Utterly ridiculous.

    • Mei Ling

      The problem here is as someone else mentioned is that Facebook have to make things clear for users before they buying thing. Nobody knows that you need to be 13 and over to use the Quest because nobody bothers to read the terms and conditions/policy manual. There would be a whole lot less complaining if parents knew about this in the first place which would help to advise them on whether or not to go through with their purchase. And this potentially mean a lot less unhappy kids because parents were aware that this is a strictly teenaged/adult product.

      • Facebook is failing to make this clear.

      • Ad

        Because they do want you to buy it anyway. They don’t really care.

        • Gato Satanista

          It’s sad but Facebook for now is the only kid at town with a mobile/hybrid headset, ready for gaming and at low price.

          • Ad

            That’s why most people should just avoid VR for another year.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      I’m sorry to say this, but using a VR headset is something completely different to me than using a console.

      • Not sure what your point is.

        • Andrew Jakobs

          You go on the rant of consoles from the past, but these days the new consoles also don’t work properly without an account. Good luck trying to normally use a f-ing nintendo switch.

          • Sven Viking

            A Nintendo Switch can actually be used even entirely offline, no registration necessary. I don’t have the new console gen but PS4 was the same at least.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            No you can’t use the switch entirely offline.. good luck getting games on it without an internet connection.. Yeah you can use it offline once you have a game installed on it. With the PS4 you could use a disc which contains the game, but even then, a lot of games don’t work as the disc is merely something like a code as you still require a hefty firstday patch to be able to play the game.

          • tccooltc

            you can buy game cartridges for the switch

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Ah, I stand corrected. My nephew just got a switch last weekend and they told me it didn’t have any cartridges or something, but I guess they just hadn’t read the manual and didn’t see the bracket on the topside of the Switch.

          • Sven Viking

            Switch games are sold at retail. Launch day patches exist but I don’t know of any physical PS4 or Switch game that isn’t playable without one.

          • So, no kids under 13 are playing Nintendo Switch systems then, and if they are they are at risk of losing access to not only their entire games library but also usage of the stock device itself?

            Nope, didn’t think so.

            You really are missing my point, aren’t you.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Even on the Quest 2 nobody is risking losing access to their account if they let their young child play with it. And yes, also switch eshop accounts can get blocked with you loosing your entire games library, as is with PSN, Xbox, Steam, GOG (if you hadn’t downloaded the game prior), Apple etc.

          • Not for the reason listed above.

            Are you deliberately trying to be dumb or something?

          • Andrew Jakobs

            No, I’m not deliberately trying to be dumb or something, but they won’t block a parents account if they let their children also play with it on the Quest 2.. Do you have any proof they did? The age thing is about creating an account for a child under 13, not letting it also use the parents account.

          • Gato Satanista

            Why for god sake do we need to merge our social facebook accounts to the quest 2 to play games? Your are missing the point here. PSN, Xbox, Steam are game services and have gaming only related accounts. Facebook is a social network. I don’t mind to make a special Oculus/Quest 2 account to play games (not possible anymore), what bothers me is the obligation to link my facebook account (social network) to the Quest 2. And, we can be banned for actions taked on the Facebook, the social network, loosing our game libraries. A wrong post on facebook can make me lose my games on Quest 2? This is stupid. I have a Quest 2, I love the hardware, but i dont want to see Facebook wining the VR game market.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            The reason why is because Facebook knows only one account type and it’s their product so it’s ‘normal’ for them to make you use their account. And to be honest, you have to make a really REALLY wrong post before getting banned, even extreme right winged people took a long time before getting banned..
            And the only reason Facebook might be winning the VR game market if the competition isn’t coming out with something better and still affordable.. Let’s just see what 2021 will bring to the VR market, CES is just a few days around the corner..

          • Gato Satanista

            And please note that a lot can go wrong with accounts on facebook. A lot, and not related to gaming or Quest 2. Someone sees a political post from you, make a injustified report (or justified), a moderator from facebook decides that you violated the terms of service of the social network (not Quest 2) and bang! End of your one or tens thousand dollars game library. And good luck talking with “the customer service” on facebook to reactivate your account.

          • Ad

            It’s called a disc and it works without any account.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            On old consoles you’re right, but these days, more and more discs are nothing more than a digital code, as it requires a day one patch to actually be able to play the game. And you can’t get that patch without having it connected to the internet and with modern consoles not even without an account.

  • Maldo

    I’m getting a lot concerned about the issue of children under 13 using the headset because of possible health issues. I’m 71 and right after using the new Quest 2 I started developing brain pain, not headache. It is pain at the right side of the base of the brain around 1 inch left to my right ear. I thought for a moment that it could be related to the new wireless signal entering my brain. Then I checked it using the Rift S which is a wired signal and the pain started again. The problem is reproduced the minute I put any headset on. I’m a heavy vr user and I’m starting to wonder if after so many years, since day one, now I’m beginning to develop health problems. I could be one of the first ones beginning to experience health problems. Now I’m afraid this could develop into a brain tumor. I’m just concerned that’s all.

    • Monkey

      You really should get it checked by a doc if you are worried about a tumor, but it is highly unlikely to be caused by wireless signals or VR.

      Unfortunately, at 71 your eyes are probably getting a little weaker than they were and are going to be suffering from the strain of VR more.

      But, as I said, if you are worried about a tumor then ‘please’ go and get it checked out.
      Best wishes.

  • Jim P

    Easy just say your 14. Create account. Hopefully the account crap goes away when all these countries suing FB.

  • ale bro

    VR is definitely not a safe space for kids to be playing unsupervised in. At a minimum, Facebook and Valve should introduce the option to restrict accounts to single player games only. Having some idiot stoner brag to a 10 yr old about bong hits in game is a really bad idea.

    • Ad

      That is best case scenario.

  • Andrew Jakobs

    To be honest, I don’t think young children should be using the headset anyway. So I don’t see a big problem with having to use the parents account as I think with a headset they should be guided anyway, especially because they probably don’t even think about the consequences of what happens if they hit stuff…

    • Ad

      They should explicitly tell parents not to buy it for small children then.

  • Jim P

    Everyone is waiting for someone else to step into the game so we can toss FB out. But for now it’s just FB with its evil lizard leader.

  • Sven Viking

    “In some cases the company has gone as far as locking accounts and asking users to send photos of government-issued identification to verify their name and age.”

    The same thing and worse has been happening to quite a few people over 13 years of age, also.

  • Grey Lock

    Oculus/Facebook is just being lazy.

    Time for them to follow NetFlix, YouTube and others and add a “Kids” login for Oculus.

  • david vincent

    Anyway, the last thing a kid needs is a VR headset.

  • Well, I’ll give you trash company but the Quest 2 is anything but trash. Quality for Quality, sure, not the highest end VR set on the market, but nothing touches its features or its price.
    It’s simply an amazing and currently unique device.
    On top of that, Facebook (the app) also is unique and nothing else compares to it. The Marketplace alone is making Craigslist a lot less relevant. Sure, there are some legitimate downsides, but none that aren’t there with other amazing things you use; Apple, Windows, Google, etc.
    I love my Quest 2.

    And….I found a way to ditch the Facebook login. Currently back to using Oculus login only. Now, that will not matter in January of 2023, but by then hopefully Facebook will see the error of their ways (thanks lawsuits!) or Valve will have released a wireless Index 2. Which I will hapily purchase.

    Regardless of someone’s opinion of Facebook, their opinions of the QUEST 2 are worthless unless they have personally tried it.

  • Matt

    Disable Telemetry on the Quest to avoid Crapbook collecting your data.

    What is telemetry? It’s a bunch of services pre-installed in your Quest to log your game activity, play time etc. (records all of your library apps and everything sideloaded). You can disable telemetry on your Quest by running these following adb commands. To do this first install adb in your PC if you don’t have already:
    https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=746010030569952951
    You can run adb commands from SideQuest as well.

    adb shell pm disable-user –user 0 com.oculus.unifiedtelemetry
    adb shell pm disable-user –user 0 com.oculus.gatekeeperservice
    adb shell pm disable-user –user 0 com.oculus.notification_proxy
    adb shell pm disable-user –user 0 com.oculus.bugreporter
    adb shell pm disable-user –user 0 com.oculus.os.logcollector
    adb shell pm disable-user –user 0 com.oculus.appsafety

    Please note that this is a one-time setup and telemetry will stay disabled when you reboot your Quest. You’ll have to disable telemetry again after a firmware update or a factory reset.

    You are welcome :)

  • Kevin White

    My manager bought not one but TWO Oculus Quest 2s for xmas, one for each of his boys. They are all active in Scouts and got to try out the Quest 1 at some scout meet, so when the Quest 2 came out and xmas was on its way, he decided it was time to get this. I think his kids are 14 and 10. It’ll be interesting to talk to him next week and see how they got on with their new toys. :o)

    I’m 46 and I think back to some of the great holidays where I received consoles — Coleco, NES, then later my younger step-brothers received a Dreamcast, a PS2, and then an Xbox original. And Xbox 360. Great times. I can imagine the excitement of being 9 or 10 and getting something cool like the Quest 2. Awesome toy to play with!

  • BiovizierMantrid

    Thank you for running this article. More people need to know what is being done to Oculus.

  • Jonathan Winters III

    Terrible. Kids should have equal if not more engagement in this tech. FB is protecting itself legally but there’s got to be a better way than to lock out all people under 13.

  • Till Eulenspiegel

    You know there’s going to be problems when a social media company gets involved with a consumer product. Your social life, what you said online, who you associated with and even how old you are – these can affect the product you bought because the account is tied to it.

    Google, Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Amazon, etc they don’t care what you said or do online – your personal life is not tied to the product you bought from them. Facebook should just use Oculus as a proxy company to manage the user account, why tied it to their socialism media is beyond me.

  • johann jensson

    Lesson learned, i hope. Don’t buy FB products, folks!

  • Alex

    Give me a let’s say a 700-800$ wireless PCVR headset with good tracking, and I quit using my Oculus for gaming. Until then I just won’t buy a Quest 2 and keep using my Quest 1.

  • jlawjdlka

    So you’re saying if a parent let’s their kid who is under 13 on the quest will be banned?

  • Atanas Ctonlob

    It’s clear.. Oculus headset shouldn’t require FB account and they should not be connected. Stupid how your 400 dollar device can end up locked because some scammer in brasil hacked your account and you’re stuck negotiating with bots on trying to get your account back.

  • Joey Jo Jo

    What a complete f**king joke! Now I’ve spent $500 on a brick because Facebook want to control what my child can and cannot do. Who TF are they to determine what a child can do. I get that the FB account needs to be 13 … But then, DONT FORCE A FB TO USE THE F**KING DEVICE!!!.