To protect users from harassment, Meta is introducing a “Personal Boundary” buffer between avatars on Horizon Worlds and Venues.
In the wake of recent harassment assaults in the metaverse, Meta has introduced a new “Personal Boundary” feature to protect users.
Related | Meta Extends End-To-End Encryption To Messenger Group Chats
The new safety tool, applied within its VR spaces – Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues – will create a personal space of 4 feet (or 1.2 meters) around avatars. The buffering measure will be applied by default between avatars and act as an invisible barrier between users, automatically halting the forward movement of other avatars as they reach the boundary.
The feature builds upon Meta’s existing hand anti-harassment measures, where an avatar’s hands would disappear if they encroached within someone’s personal space.
Meta has presented the feature on its Oculus Quest page to ensure user safety by avoiding unwanted interactions and is hoping that the early intervention will “help to set behavioral norms” in the relatively new metaverse space.
As Meta explains, “virtual reality can and should be for everyone. And we’re constantly working to improve people’s experience in VR, gathering feedback from the community to inform our work as we continue to iterate and make improvements.”
Over time, the company will “continue to make improvements as we learn how this affects people’s experiences” and possibly add new controls that allow users to determine what size they would prefer their boundaries to be.
Personal Boundary began rolling out on Saturday everywhere inside Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues.
You might also like
More from Facebook
Meta Is Killing Its Messenger For Apple Watch App
Meta announced it will remove the Messenger for Apple Watch app on May 31 “After May 31st, Messenger won’t be available …
Facebook Probably Owes You Money
Meta has agreed to pay out $725 million to Facebook users to settle a class action lawsuit concerning user privacy. If …
Meta Verified Service Goes Live In The US
Want to get the coveted blue verification checkmark on Facebook and Instagram? If you're in the US, now you can. …
Facebook And Instagram Start Selling Blue Checks With Meta Verified
Meta Verified will give you a blue check badge on both Facebook and Instagram, along with other benefits for $12 …
Meta Brings Back #BuyBlack Friday For A Third Year
Meta is bringing back #BuyBlack Friday for a third consecutive year in North America. Meta emphasized the importance of the Holiday …
Facebook Is Giving You More Controls Over What You See On Your Feed
Facebook is introducing new "show more" and "show less" controls to let you adjust what you want to see on …
Meta Introduces Facebook Reels API, Offering An Option To ‘Share To Reels’
Meta has introduced the Facebook Reels API, a solution allowing developers to build a 'share to reels' option into their …
Facebook Gets Into Delivery With DoorDash Partnership
DoorDash is partnering with Meta to pilot Facebook Marketplace deliveries across multiple cities in the U.S. Drivers will only transport items …
Meta Rolls Out Horizon Worlds In France And Spain
Meta Horizon Worlds, the VR community and game, is now available in France and Spain.
