Facebook testing in-headset VR ads for Oculus

It sounds like a dystopian nightmare, yet it’s fast becoming a reality: Facebook has announced it’s going to start testing in-headset VR adverts.

Facebook initially started testing adverts on the Oculus mobile app last month, but it’s now taking things a step further by trialling adverts inside the Oculus Quest VR headset. The adverts are first being tested in a game called Blaston by Resolution Games, and will roll out to a couple of other apps “over the coming weeks”.

Judging by a gif on the Oculus blog showing an in-headset advert, it looks like players can point at an advert to click on a link or save it for later. There’s also a drop-down menu to report and hide ads, and an option to tweak user preferences.

The post explains that the adverts on Oculus will remain consistent with Facebook’s existing privacy policies. Conversations with friends on apps like Messenger won’t be used to target ads. Locally-stored information on your headset (such as movement data or voice recordings) also won’t be used to target ads, although if you click on an advert in-headset, Facebook will get information about whether you interacted with it.