Meta Horizon Worlds Adds Controls as It Lowers Age Requirement

Meta is lowering the age requirement for entry to a virtual reality (VR) platform.

Previously limited to those 18 or older, Meta Horizon Worlds will be opened to those 13 or older in the United States and Canada in the coming weeks, Meta said in a Tuesday (April 18) press release.

“Now, teens will be able to explore immersive worlds, play games like Arena Clash and Giant Mini Paddle Golf, enjoy concerts and live comedy events, connect with others from around the world, and express themselves as they create their own virtual experiences,” Meta said.

Together with this expanded availability of the VR platform, Meta is also rolling out new safety features for use by teens and parents, according to the press release.

For teens, these features include profile privacy settings that let them control who they follow and who can follow them, active status settings that are turned off by default, content ratings that prevent them from finding or entering spaces that include mature content, a voice mode that is garbled by default, and limits on interactions between adults and teens, the release said.

The parental supervision controls include the ability to adjust and lock safety features, to see who their teen follows and is followed by, to see which apps their teen has used and to control permission for them to use apps.

“We’re rolling out to teens slowly, so that we can carefully examine usage and are taking a phased approach before expanding more broadly,” Meta said in the release. “We can’t wait to see everything these new members of the community bring to Worlds.”

As PYMNTS reported in October 2022, Meta has made some stumbles as it has rolled out its virtual reality offerings.

For example, Meta Horizon Worlds at the time had a monthly active user count of only 200,000 and has been much mocked.

That monthly active user count was below Meta’s initial goal of reaching 500,000 by the end of 2022, and below its revised goal of 280,000, The Wall Street Journal reported in October.