Testing VR ads in the headset

Last month we announced that

we start testing ads

in the Oculus mobile app to give developers a new way to showcase their VR apps. experience will begin with Resolution Games' Blaston and a few other developers rolling out over the next few weeks.

Our primary goal at Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) is to bring more people to VR, advance the consumer experience, and advance our longer-term augmented reality initiatives. We are also exploring new ways for developers to generate revenue. This is a key element in ensuring that we create a self-sustaining platform that can support a variety of business models that unlock new types of content and audiences. It also helps us continue to make AR material /Innovative VR more accessible to more people.

For now, this is a test with a few applications. Once we've seen how this test unfolds and incorporates developer and community feedback, we'll provide more details on when ads may become more widely available on the Oculus platform and within the Oculus. mobile app, plus tips for businesses and developers interested in advertising on Oculus. We're looking forward to hearing what you think, so please get in touch.

Oculus Support

to share your comments.

Ads are most effective when they are high quality and relevant. Because of this, Oculus ads will follow

Facebook Advertising Principles

, the first of which is "build for people first". It's also important that users can manage the ads they see, which is why we include controls to hide specific ads or hide ads completely. an advertiser. Users can also access more detailed ad preferences from any ad through our “Why am I seeing this ad?” interface. As our testing progresses, we We'll continue to listen to feedback to improve the ads people see.

Points of confidentiality

As with everything FRL builds, our exploration of brand engagement on Oculus is guided by our

responsible innovation principles

to ensure that we create inclusive and privacy-focused products.

Adding ads to the Oculus Platform does not change our privacy or advertising policies. When testing ads in Oculus apps, Facebook will obtain new information such as whether you interacted with an ad and, if yes, how, for example, if you clicked on the ad for more information or if you hid the ad. Other than that, this test does not change how your Oculus data is processed or how it informs advertisements. As a reminder, here is some info on the Oculus data that

is not

used to target ads:

We do not use information processed and stored locally on your headset to target ads. Processing and storing information on the device means that it does not leave your headset or reach Facebook's servers, it therefore cannot be used for advertising purposes. Examples of data processed on the device include raw sensor images on Quest and images of your hands (if you choose to enable hand tracking), all of which are two instantly overwritten. Examples of data stored locally on the device include weight, height, or gender information that you choose to provide to Oculus Move.

We take extra precautions with our use of motion data, such as minimizing what we need to provide a safe and immersive virtual reality experience, for example, to prevent you from bumping into real-world objects and lowering your avatar while playing a game. do not intend to use movement data to target ads.

Finally, we don't use the content of your conversations with people on apps like Messenger, Parties and chats or your voice interactions to target ads. This includes any sound your microphone picks up when you use our voice commands feature. , like "Hey Facebook, show me who's online."

You can visit the

Privacy Center

at any time to learn more about your Oculus privacy settings and how and where to change them, view your information, download your information, and delete your Oculus data. We will continue to provide tools that give our community transparency, choice, and control over how the information is used to personalize their experience on Oculus. For more information about our current user controls for ads and the actions you can take today,

Click here

.

More soon

This is a new innovation in the advertising industry, and it is still in its infancy. We are currently investing in stealth ads as a new way for developers to build businesses. And while we're not quite ready to test them yet, we're also exploring new VR-specific ad formats.

Although this is a preliminary test, we are excited about the opportunity to open up new revenue streams for developers and thereby expand the type of apps and content on the platform. -form Oculus. A more profitable content ecosystem is a critical step on the road to mainstream VR becoming truly mainstream. And it's something we believe is worth celebrating.