Quest 2 Privacy Settings: A guide to changing what VR data Meta collects

Oculus/Meta Quest 2 is the best-selling virtual reality headset, and while it is an amazing experience to be able to step into other worlds and explore them in VR, some users may be concerned about their privacy and where their data goes. That’s why we’ve put together this guide on Quest 2 Privacy Settings. In it, we will show you where to find the settings menu and walk you through the options to change it.

How to Locate Oculus Quest 2 Privacy Settings

At its core, Meta is a social media company with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp as its main drivers of revenue from ad and data revenue. Because of this, some users of the Oculus/Meta Quest 2 are concerned about where their data ends up. And while Meta will switch away from requiring a Facebook to a Meta account, for some, it is not enough.

The good news is that Meta has made changing your privacy settings incredibly easy. You can check your Oculus Privacy Settings right now by visiting the Oculus Privacy Center and scrolling down to Privacy Settings. If done, this is what you see and what you can control:

The privacy settings that must be accessed through the headset

You can also change whether or not Meta saves audio recordings of your voice when you use the Voice Commands feature. By default, any time you use Voice Commands, a recording of the command will be saved on Meta’s servers.

Here is how to disable this from the headset:

1. Left-click on the clock icon in the Oculus menu to open ‘Quick Actions’, then click the gear icon or ‘Settings’ located at the top right
2. Select ‘System’, then select ‘Voice Commands’
3. In this menu, select ‘Voice Storage’, here you can switch off Meta to ‘Store Voice Commands’ and ‘Store Transcripts’

Guide to see what data Meta has collected

First, Meta uses your data for two purposes. One is to track what VR games and applications you have purchased. The other is for advertising, i.e., placing ads in your Facebook feed related to your Quest 2 behavior.

To see the full list of what data Meta accumulates, find ‘View Your Information‘ in the Oculus Privacy Center mentioned above. Some standouts are “Current and Past Profile Photos” you’ve had, “Recently Viewed Items”, “Subscribed Events”, and “Incognito Mode”.

However, it should be pointed out that Meta has stated they do not store any video data of your room when using the Quest 2.

If you have a Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram account, a data profile is made about you used for advertising purposes. It is unknown if these data profiles are anonymous and/or used in aggregate to target groups of people for advertising purposes and not individuals.In either case, if you want to learn more about Meta’s data privacy policies, these two links are an excellent way to start: Facebook Data Policy and Supplemental Oculus Data Policy.