Meta has announced that it is opening its social VR platform, Horizon Worlds, to teens aged 13 to 17 in the US and Canada in the coming weeks. Meta has enhanced its VR parental supervision tools to now cover Meta Horizon Worlds, providing parents and guardians with more convenient ways to oversee their teenagers’ VR experiences.
The company has crafted and developed the Horizon Worlds experience for teenagers with a comprehensive range of safeguards and default safety measures. Teens can determine who they follow and who can follow them back, and their profiles are set to private. Meta ensures that a teenager’s active status and Meta Horizon Worlds’ location remain private from other users.
The latest addition to Horizon Worlds is the voice mode feature, which modifies the voices of unknown individuals into soft, friendly tones, allowing teenagers to have greater control over their communication. Meta has implemented measures to prevent interactions between adults and unrelated teenagers, such as ensuring that adults whom a teen does not know are not displayed in their “people you might know” list.
There is a Family Center feature where parents can access supervision tools, tips, and resources about online safety and well-being to support their teens’ experiences across Meta technologies. Meta also uses content ratings to ensure teens have an age-appropriate experience within Worlds, such as mature world and event ratings.
Last October it was reported that Meta’s Metaverse Horizon Worlds is struggling to attract new users, and the user base has steadily declined since the spring. If Meta plays their cards right, their new vision to attract teenagers could be a lucrative opportunity.
Compiled by Coinbold
