Meta has unveiled a new measure aimed at ensuring age-appropriate experiences for Quest 2 and 3 users by prompting them to confirm their age by reentering their birthdays.
This feature, Meta explained, aims to provide the “right experience, settings, and protections for teens and preteens.”
For teenagers aged 13 to 17, their profiles will automatically be set to private, with guardians having access to parental supervision tools to customize their teens’ experiences. On the other hand, parents are required to set up accounts for preteens aged 10 to 12, granting them control over which apps the preteen can download.
During the congressional online safety hearing in January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg advocated for mobile app store providers like Apple and Google to implement parental controls for social media. Now, Meta appears to be using its Quest VR store as an example of how devices with app stores should approach online age verification.
Users are given a 30-day window to confirm their age. Failure to do so within this period will result in temporary account suspension until the birthdate is provided. To mitigate the potential for false age entries, Meta will require individuals who accidentally input an incorrect birthdate to verify their age with an ID or credit card.
Starting in March 2024, Meta informed developers that it will mandate them to specify their app’s intended age group (preteens, teens, or adults). Additionally, it launched user age group APIs last month, enabling developers to notify Meta if a user is underage for their app.
Meta initially introduced parental supervision tools to its VR headset in 2022 and subsequently released parent-managed accounts for preteens last year.
