Thursday, October 22nd 2020
Looking for a Paperweight? Buy an Oculus Quest 2 and Get Your Facebook Account Locked
We've all been there - we've all looked longingly at someone elses' flashy paperweight - an Escher puzzle, a coffee mug, a smartphone, a badly flashed GPU or even a face mask are all worthy contenders vying for our attention. Facebook, however, has been turning the paperweight game on its head, and in the real world too - some users who bought the most recent Quest 2 headset (which is apparently selling pretty well) are being given the opportunity to adorn their desks with this high-tech, low-key paperweight due to its Facebook-required integration. Essentially, users who have their Facebook accounts banned (or, more specifically, with pending verification) have been met with difficulties in actually using their Quest 2 (which, by all accounts, is a huge step forward for the VR space).
Facebook's integration with Oculus was something that was guaranteed not to happen back during the acquisition; however, recently, we've discovered that Facebook integration would become mandatory for all Oculus headsets (previous models will be grandfathered via their Oculus accounts until 2023), and that the Quest 2 would be the first headset to mandate that users link their Facebook accounts. The problem stems from Facebook flagging accounts for verification - if that user has an Oculus Quest 2, they won't be able to use the device until the account has been successfully verified. This can be a lengthy process, as Facebook employs a photograph verification process that can sometimes take upwards of three months to get human validation form Facebook's side. Users trying to reactivate old Facebook accounts to use with the Quest 2 have been successfully linked, only to be immediately locked out due to identity verification requirements.
Facebook's idea on Real Identity (where any one account actually fully represents a single person that exists in the non-digital world, and is thus much more valuable for data gathering and advertising revenue) is partly to blame here, as it may bring an overzealous disposition to the table - at least when it comes to Oculus Quest 2 paperweights. For now, Facebook is directing Quest 2 users who have run into these account verification issues to try and clear them with Oculus support. here's hoping that process takes a little less than three months.
Source:
Upload VR
Facebook's idea on Real Identity (where any one account actually fully represents a single person that exists in the non-digital world, and is thus much more valuable for data gathering and advertising revenue) is partly to blame here, as it may bring an overzealous disposition to the table - at least when it comes to Oculus Quest 2 paperweights. For now, Facebook is directing Quest 2 users who have run into these account verification issues to try and clear them with Oculus support. here's hoping that process takes a little less than three months.
104 Comments on Looking for a Paperweight? Buy an Oculus Quest 2 and Get Your Facebook Account Locked
Buy an Occulus, you must create a Facebook account and open yourself up to the largest data mining project in the world.
Buy an Android, you almost have to use a Google account to even have a functional device, and get data mined there, too.
Want to use Windows? You can use a local account, but MS is pushing that Microsoft Account pretty hard. Not that you don't get data mined by the OS regardless of whether you use a MS account or not.
mostat least a few of us here would like that lol, but it's unlikely that it will get anywhere.If nothing else, it's gonna be interesting for antitrust and GDPR regulators, which are probably better suited to this kind of issue.
Facebook is way creepier and violates many, if not most, "community standards". It's really a shame that junkies are keeping them afloat instead of their deserved boycott.
There are many people that have not succumbed to FB’s mind control that has quashed all points of view that don’t conform to theirs and banned those accounts. Those people will also have paperweights, as they will not be allowed to use the gear they purchased that requires a FB account to operate.
Frak Facebook. Pathetic losers.
I'm all for constructive criticism, but I'm also all for convincing arguments. And I know how I wrote the title; how you read it, however, is out of my control.
I love VR and its immense possibilities, and I see it as the future of experiences. There is no negative bias. What there sometimes is is overt, extreme optimism that doesn't look at the actual state of the industry, and its adoption.