Meta is taking a step forward in virtual reality by opening up its Horizon Worlds platform to preteens, all under careful parental oversight. Parents can now manage accounts for kids aged 10 to 12, and let them delve into various VR experiences, albeit with some ground rules.
Recently, Meta shared that soon, parents will have the power to vet which virtual worlds their kids can explore. Among the offerings are places like The Space Station, The Aquarium, and the exhilarating Spy School racing game. Preteens can put in requests for specific worlds they want to check out, or parents can choose from the options themselves to grant access.
In terms of safety, Meta is not slacking. They’ve rolled out a rating system to help guide parents in making safe choices—worlds are marked as suitable for 10+, 13+, or 18+. Parents can easily approve all worlds rated 10+, and any content meant for those 18+ simply won’t show up for the younger crowd. There’s an absence of follower suggestions, and kids’ online status and profile visibility are set to “offline” by default—unless a parent decides to change that.
Moreover, kids’ avatars have a perpetual “Personal Boundary” activated, giving them a virtual bubble of space about two feet wide to keep others at a respectful distance.
This update builds on previous moves by Meta, where they’ve allowed parents to handpick who their children can communicate with and bring into VR engagements. In addition, users of Meta’s Quest 2 or 3 headsets are now required to confirm their birthdate before accessing their devices again.
Parental controls for preteens originally came on the scene in June 2023. Despite these enhancements aimed at bolstering security, it’s understandable if some parents remain skeptical about Meta’s commitment to child safety, given their track record.
Earlier this year, information surfaced that Meta had knowingly targeted younger users with its messaging platforms. This revelation came to light through internal documents linked to a lawsuit from the New Mexico Department of Justice, emphasizing inappropriate interactions facilitated between adults and children. On top of this, another legal challenge from 42 state attorneys general in the U.S. accuses Meta of crafting its platforms to pull in kids, an act they argue harms children’s mental health.
