Also on the program, new options will allow parents to better supervise the activity of their children. This update is perceived as welcome for Meta environments, especially since it includes the integration of an “immersive” option in the “Do Not Disturb” function.
As a reminder, the last interesting novelty, which saw the light of day before these appearances, was V49 for which a dedicated article was devoted. Since the launch of the Oculus Quest, Meta has distilled the environments usable in the Home of the headset. Thus, after two years, there have only been about fifteen available to date.
Favorably, the do-it-yourselfers know how to install, or even create, using tape, but it seems that Meta wants to offer new ones monthly. Last month, it was the snowy landscape of “Polar Village”, and this month, it is a more abstract space called “Abstraction” which has made its appearance lately.
In the same vein, Meta plans to give more freedom by offering more anchor points for avatars. It was even announced that we should be able to virtually sit on the ottomans and sofas in the set. This should therefore be possible on future environments, but old ones should be updated accordingly.
It is to be hoped that the various placements are skilfully studied to avoid seeing behind the scenes, which most often remain “tinkered” as it has been given to a lot of people to see. In this sense, Meta wishes to invest in pedagogy with its new website, which will be used to configure and manage the parental supervision tools of Meta Quest.
It will thus be possible, without going through the helmet itself or the smartphone application, to block the launch of applications according to PEGI (3, 7, 12, 16 or 18+), to prevent connection to a PC (Link and Airlink), block developer mode or cut social connections (Horizon Worlds, Facebook, Messenger, etc.).
As for the practical side, the person whose account will be moderated (the teenager, for example) will have to request it via an invitation that you will accept.
This is a good thing since it implies that the “surveillance” is done in full transparency and with the consent of the child concerned. This new “Do Not Disturb” function, which puts notifications on hold, was available via the eponymous settings menu or via a pictogram in the quick menu. To date, this possibility had to be activated manually. But from V49, a new option will appear, called “Immersive Experiences”, which, after having checked it, will automatically block messages as soon as a game or an application is launched in VR.
Mariem LEMRAJNI