Meta Unveils New Parental Controls for Instagram, Virtual Reality

Meta Unveils New Parental Controls for Instagram, Virtual Reality

Facebook's parent company Meta said Wednesday it's rolling out new tools meant to give parents and guardians more control over how their teens use social media and virtual reality. 

Instagram will let parents limit how much time their teens spend on the service.

Instagram

The social media giant is releasing the new features first on Instagram, a photo-and-video service owned by Meta. Parents will be able to view the amount of time their teens spend on Instagram and set time limits. They'll also be able to get updates about accounts their teens follow and the accounts that follow their teens. 

Instagram will have a Family Center where parents can access these tools in one place and view resources such as videos and articles about how to talk to their teens about their social media use. Instagram said the tools will be available in the US on Wednesday. The company plans to roll out the features globally in the coming months.

"This is just one step on a longer path -- our vision for Family Center is to eventually allow parents and guardians to help their teens manage experiences across Meta technologies, all from one central place," said Adam Mosseri, who heads Instagram.

Meta owns messaging apps WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger along with VR headset maker Oculus. 

The release of more parental controls underscores how Meta is trying to respond to criticism it's not doing enough to protect the safety of young people on its services. There are a number of issues that parents are worried about on social media, including content about suicide and eating disorders. The blowback against Instagram escalated after Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager turned whistleblower, leaked a trove of internal documents last year. 

The Wall Street Journal published a story partly based on the documents about how Instagram knows the app is "toxic for teen girls." Research presented in 2019 found that Instagram makes body image issues worse for one in three teen girls. Teens also said Instagram increased rates of anxiety and depression, The Journal reported.

Meta pushed back on the characterization of its research, noting that Instagram also connects teens with their family and friends. The leaked research prompted US lawmakers to call several congressional hearings on the topic. 

In December, Mosseri testified before Congress for the first time. At that hearing, lawmakers also expressed concerns about Instagram creating a kids' version  for children under 13. Even though Instagram paused the project, Mosseri stopped short of saying the idea is permanently off the table. Instagram says the project is meant to give parents more control over the social media usage of kids between the ages of 10 and 12 who may already be on the app.

Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden also urged Congress in his State of the Union address to "strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children." 

As Instagram rolls out more tools for supervision, parents will also have to balance a teens' need for privacy. Teens have also found ways to circumvent parental controls, and parents don't always use the tools available to them. 

For now, teens will need to activate the parental controls on the Instagram app. In June, parents will be able to initiate supervision of their teens' Instagram use through the app and the desktop site. Teens will still need to approve the request from their parents. 

Instagram said it will also release more tools in the coming months, such as the ability for parents to set the hours their teens are allowed to browse Instagram. More than one guardian will also be able to supervise a teens' Instagram account.

Meanwhile, Meta has been pushing forward with plans to build the metaverse, virtual worlds where people will be able to work, socialize and shop. 

VR, though, has the same problems found on social media such as harassment and underage users. To use the Oculus VR headset, you're supposed to be at least 13 years old. 

Meta said in May it will start rolling out more supervision tools in VR. The company will start to automatically block teens from downloading or purchasing apps in VR that are inappropriate for their age. Parents will have the ability to override the blocks and teens will also be able to request this as well.

"Different teens have different maturity levels, and parents know their teens best. We also know that customizable controls, teen autonomy and adjustable settings are important to our community," Meta said in a blog post. 

The Oculus mobile app will include a dashboard where parents can manage these tools. In April, parents will be able to prevent teens from accessing games that are inappropriate for their age by using an "unlock pattern" to lock access to these apps. Oculus users create this pattern as an extra level of security to prevent others from accessing their devices or saved passwords. 

Parents will also be able to view all the apps their teens own, receive notifications when a purchase is made, view who is on their friends list on Oculus and also see how much time their teens spend in VR. 

---

Source

Tags:

• Parental Control New Episodes
• Go To Parental Controls
• Parental Control Where Are They Now
• Parental Control On Mtv
• Meta Quest 2 Parental Controls
• Parental Control New Episodes
• Go To Parental Controls
• Meta New Privacy Policy
• New Meta Project Coming
• Meta Will Stop Making Portal For
• Meta Unveils New Ai Supercomputer

Meta next vr headset mentas next add meta tag in next js azur lane next meta ship metastock meta stock price meta share price metasrc meta stocks metastore meta suite meta stats meta stock price today meta shades meta support meta setup

Meta's Next VR Headset Is Coming In October: What We Know About Meta Cambria, aka Quest Pro

---

Meta's Next VR Headset Is Coming In October: What We Know About Meta Cambria, aka Quest Pro

The Oculus Quest 2 (now called Meta Quest 2) has become a surprisingly successful virtual reality headset and remains our favorite VR device despite being two years old and suddenly more expensive. What will Meta, the former Facebook, do for its encore? The company is expected to release four new headsets over the next few years, but the next on deck is coming this October, according to an interview with Meta head Mark Zuckerberg on Joe Rogan's podcast.

The headset, called "Project Cambria," was announced last year. Don't expect it to be a true sequel to the Quest 2, though. Instead, it should be a Quest Pro much like what Mark Zuckerberg told CNET back in 2021.

Project Cambria looks to be a far more expensive and advanced sort of AR/VR hybrid headset, a bridge device that could be an amazing VR device, but could also enable mixed reality combining video from the real world with VR via improved cameras. 

Cambria will also add new sensor technology (notably, eye tracking and face tracking) that could introduce new possibilities for interacting in VR and animating your avatar. But that eye tracking brings questions about data privacy, too.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg showing a brief glimpse of the next-gen headset via Facebook.

Facebook

Stand-alone, like the Quest 2

Yes, Cambria looks to be a stand-alone device like Quest 2. But, also like Quest 2, expect it to optionally connect to PCs and, to some extent, phones. Early reported design mockups show a design that seems smaller than the Quest 2, but a larger battery could mean more weight. Meta has already confirmed the headset will be more compact where the lenses meet the face, using "pancake lenses" that can compress the distance needed to create convincing 3D effects.

The larger battery seems like it could sit on the back of the headset, creating a design that looks more like Microsoft's Hololens 2, an augmented reality headset, than Meta's existing Oculus VR goggles. VR devices like the HTC Vive Focus 3 (and Meta's own battery strap accessory for Quest 2) put batteries on the back of the headset, too.

While recent reports like those from The Information call Cambria a "laptop for your face," suggesting more self-contained power, expect the headset to connect with computers for more powerful applications much like the Quest 2 can do right now.

More sensors

Mark Zuckerberg, in a conversation with CNET last year, told me that a pro version of the Quest would focus on more sensor technology. Eye and face tracking are already known, but it's possible that Cambria will allow for more health and fitness tracking. Fitness has been a major focus for Meta's VR platforms, and the company's already acquired a subscription fitness service that measures heart rate through a paired Apple Watch. (The Oculus Move app syncs with Apple Health.) Meta is also reportedly working on its own smartwatch.

How will it mix reality?

Project Cambria's improved external cameras will capture passthrough color video, showing it on the headset's internal display. The Quest 2 can "see through" and show the outside world, too, but in a grainy black and white video feed. The Quest 2 overlays some VR with this feed, like room boundaries, creating a type of mixed reality. Expect Meta Cambria to do this far more realistically.

Mark Zuckerberg gave a brief demo of the headset's possibilities back in May via Facebook.

I've already tried one example of this tech on a very high-end VR headset made by a Finnish company called Varjo. The Varjo XR-3 uses lidar and cameras to scan the real world; it then layers VR into it in a way that can look almost as convincing as the effects in AR headsets made by Microsoft and Magic Leap. I'd expect Meta Cambria to try for something very similar. 

Meta's aspirations for future AR glasses haven't been realized yet, but the Cambria could end up being a toolkit for developers to make AR-type experiences that could also use hand (and eye) tracking.

Facebook's next VR headset will have face tracking and eye tracking.

Facebook

How will eye tracking work?

We don't know the specifics, but most eye tracking in VR works in a similar way: Infrared cameras measure eye movement, while some trackers also capture images of your eye. Eye tracking does a few pretty useful things: Foveated rendering can create better graphics with less processing power by only showing the highest-res details where the fovea of your eyes is looking, potentially meaning better battery life or performance in a smaller headset. 

Eye tracking can also be used to create more realistic eye contact for avatars, and to combine with hand tracking and controllers to improve control accuracy. It could even mean better accessibility for people who don't have full mobility, using only eye controls to operate the VR interface.

Meta looks to be adding face tracking cameras as well as eye tracking, which could be used to map emotions and facial expressions into avatars. But all of this tracking comes with additional privacy questions. While Meta has promised transparency and limits to how tracking data is used, Facebook's history of userdata abuse leaves a lot of concerns.

Mark Zuckerberg promises new avatars coming soon: will they be be more expressive, or more awkward?

Meta

Better avatars, maybe?

Zuckerberg promises that this headset will animate avatars more realistically, and could come along with upgraded Meta avatars. Mark Zuckerberg's latest cartoonish avatar in Horizon Worlds became a widely mockedmeme, but will eye tracking and better graphics make interactions feel better than what's currently possible? Meta's going to make this a big part of Cambria's efforts, but how the next headset's upgraded avatar controls interface with the rest of Quest 2 owners isn't clear.

Odds are, it won't be as much of a game console

If the Cambria headset is more than $800, there's no way it will be as popular as the Quest 2 is now. Meta seems to be hinting that's not the point of Cambria, which means that game developers may not be as focused on the new hardware.

Facebook has a history of funding lots of gaming and art projects on its VR platforms, but it sounds like Cambria may not be about debuting new games. Instead, Meta will likely focus on a wide range of business, training, fitness and AR-crossover apps to help build its metaverse visions. In that sense, current Quest 2 owners might already have the best VR game console for a while (until the PlayStation VR 2 arrives in 2023, at least). 

The Information's latest report on the Meta Cambria reinforces that this headset's greatest strengths -- better display resolution, eye tracking, passthrough mixed reality -- will be tools to advance Meta's vision for work and the future of VR. Look to competing high-end VR and AR products like the Vive Focus 3, Hololens 2 and Varjo's headsets, where professional uses are the clear goal. Meta's had great success appealing to gamers, but it'll have a harder time convincing workplaces to adopt its tech. 

The Quest 2, released in 2020, is still one of our favorite headsets. It may not get replaced until 2023.

Scott Stein/CNET

Should you buy a Quest 2 now or wait for Cambria (or a future Quest 3)?

A true successor to the Quest 2 may not happen until 2023, based on recent reports. That Quest 3 is expected to be a headset that would compete at the same price as the Quest 2, and possibly replace it, but not this year. Cambria, however, is not expected to be that headset. If the Cambria headset is as high-priced as Meta says it is, it probably won't even be competing with the Quest 2 for most shoppers. Instead, it may be more about pushing more advanced features (eye tracking, mixed reality, better display quality) that could eventually trickle down into more affordable products later.

Keep the concepts of "Cambria" and "Quest 3" separate in your head, and it'll help you plan your buying decisions. Cambria may only end up appealing to enthusiast and pro users with money to spend. I don't expect any VR headset to be able to compete with Quest 2's $400 price anytime soon, except for maybe Tiktok parent company ByteDance's upcoming Pico headset.

The Quest 2 is still a fantastic headset for its price, and Meta keeps updating the software with new features regularly. Unless you're a professional eager for a top-end headset at any price, you probably don't need to wait for whatever Cambria ends up becoming later this year. However, if you have a PlayStation 5, you might want to wait and see what the PlayStation VR 2 is like.

---

Source

Samsung's eco-friendly CES 2022 pledge: TVs, appliances will pack recycled materials by 2025

Samsung's eco-friendly CES 2022 pledge: TVs, appliances will pack recycled materials by 2025

This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon.

During CES 2022, Samsung is extending sustainability measures pioneered in its mobile and audio divisions to its appliances and TVs to make its products even more eco-friendly.

This includes expanding recycled plastics in products and packaging as well as teaming up with companies like Patagonia to reduce the impact of microplastics in the oceans and environment. It continues Samsung's broader efforts to make its devices and appliances more sustainable through conventional and sometimes experimental endeavors, from solar-powered TV remotes to a blockchain reforestation project also announced during CES 2022.

"Every year, Samsung sells half a billion devices," said JH Han, head of Samsung Electronics. He added that that size carries responsibility that any changes his company makes can cause ripples across the industry. "Millions of everyday changes can make a meaningful impact for our planet."

Samsung's sustainability pledges come at a time when climate change has become a key issue across many industries including politics, business and finance. Car companies have rapidly pledged moves to electric vehicles. Meanwhile, the tech industry has begun taking on e-waste, which is exacerbated by the constant upgrades of features and capabilities in its products.

Read more: Samsung's $899 portable projector turns any surface into a smart TV at CES 2022

To offset those impacts, companies like Microsoft, Google and Meta (née Facebook) have pledged to reduce, offset or even reverse carbon usage in their worldwide offices and data centers. Apple additionally has built recycling robots, designed to rescue and reuse parts from unfixable devices, rather than sending them to the landfill. It's also touted features like recycled materials for its MacBooks, iMacs and iPhones, while pushing its suppliers to adopt green technology as well.

For Samsung, these efforts are showing up in the products you buy as it increases the amount of recycled plastic in home appliances, as well as developing new product parts, like components for washing machine tubs recycled from lunchboxes and face mask straps. Additionally, Samsung said it plans for TVs and visual displays to contain 30 times more recycled plastics than those produced last year.

Read more: CES 2022: Samsung's Odyssey Ark looks too graceful for gaming

Samsung vacuums and air purifiers will soon arrive tucked in eco-packaging, or materials that had been previously used, which the company started doing with its phones and audio products. Samsung's even exploring ways to turn that packaging into tables or cat houses. Samsung also said at CES that it wants to push its TVs and phone chargers to operate at near zero power draw while on standby, so that they consume "almost no energy" when not being used.

To help guide the company on its eco-friendly path, Samsung is teaming up with outdoor outfitter Patagonia to refine production and reduce the impact of microplastics on the environment. Other partnerships will expand Samsung's SmartThings Energy to help consumers manage the energy use of their networked devices, and even switch to more cost-efficient energy providers. Ultimately, Samsung said it hopes to eliminate single-use plastic from its smartphone packaging by 2025. It also hopes by that time to get reused materials in all home appliances and mobile products as well. 

"We must build together for tomorrow," Samsung's Han said. "This is a future we must build together."

---

Source

Tags:

• Samsung Ces 2022 Monitors
• Samsung At Ces 2022
• Samsung Ces 2022 Keynote
• Ces 2022 Samsung Tv
• Eco Friendly Mobile Phone
• Samsung Second Hand Phones For Sale
• Samsung Second Screen Wired