From August 2020, Facebook had announced its decision to start merging Oculus and Facebook accounts, with headset owners required to link their device to their Facebook account of choice by 2023.
Though this is seen as a standard push by Facebook to unify Oculus’ service into one ecosystem, there is a new revelation that headset owners who no longer wish to stay on Facebook and have their account deleted will also face having their Oculus data and purchases permanently deleted.
“Deleting your Facebook account will also delete your Oculus information,” as seen in a screenshot of Facebook by Twitter user @CixLiv. “This includes your app purchases and achievements. You will no longer be able to return any apps and will lose any existing store credits.”
As expected, Facebook and Oculus have been criticised for this policy, with people now suggesting for headset owners to create new Facebook accounts just for Oculus.
Facebook’s augmented and virtual reality boss Andrew Bosworth remains a firm supporter of the move, stating that this is a very common practice among other companies such as Google, Apple, and Xbox.
“They make you sign in with an account and there’s a reason for that. We get to provide better services that way and stronger guarantees around things like data security, and compliance with regulations. So I’m a big fan of this move, even still,” says Bosworth.
He adds that customers should “continue to make sure their Facebook accounts are in good standing before they buy a headset”.
Meanwhile, those who only wish to deactivate their account will only have access to their Oculus data and purchases disabled, and will be accessible once again after they have reactivated their account.
Germaine is a fun-sized introvert who loves nothing better than sleeping in on rainy days. She can be found reading fanfiction and manga while still waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter. It’ll come eventually.
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