Meta Rolls Out Parental Locks On Virtual Reality Apps, Instagram To Keep A Tab on Teens

Meta Platforms Inc FB is rolling out parental supervision on its Quest virtual reality (VR) headsets.

What Happened: Beginning April, parents will be able to create an “unlock pattern” as an extra security layer to prevent access to Quest headsets. Meta will introduce this feature for specific apps directly from the VR.

“This will allow parents to prevent teens 13+ from accessing games and experiences they feel aren’t age-appropriate by using an unlock pattern to lock access to those apps,” Meta said in a statement on Wednesday.

An override of this blocking is available to parents on a case-by-case basis, the company added. 

Meta is also introducing a “Parental Dashboard,” accessible from the Oculus mobile app, which will allow parents to link their teen’s account by consent of both sides.

Teenagers can request to purchase apps, while parents will remove notifications when purchases are made. They will also be able to view their teen’s friends list.

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Why It Matters: Meta said its Quest devices are intended for use by people aged 13 and above, and not designed for younger children.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company said it is rolling out “Family Center", which will allow parents and guardians to help teens “manage experience across Meta technologies.”

The company said its supervision tools are now available for Instagram in the United States and will be rolled out globally in the coming months. 

The first set of tools available on Instagram notifies parents about the amount of time their children spend on Instagram.

Last year, Meta was criticized by a group of Democratic lawmakers who expressed “serious concerns” over a children’s version of Instagram. 

The lawmakers had said in a letter to Zuckerberg, “Given Facebook’s past failures to protect children and in light of evidence that using Instagram may pose a threat to young users’ wellbeing, we have serious concerns about this proposal.”

Price Action: On Wednesday, Meta shares rose 6% to $203.63 in the regular session and gained another 0.2% in after-hours trading.

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Photo courtesy: Meta Quest