New Report from Common Sense Media Evaluates the Privacy Policies of the Most Popular Virtual Reality Headsets on the Market - PR Newswire

The investigation reveals the apical 7 VR devices neglect to conscionable the minimum privateness and information requirements recommended to support kids safe.

, /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Common Sense Media released a caller study that evaluates the privateness policies of the astir fashionable virtual world headsets connected the market. The report, "Privacy of Virtual Reality: Our Future successful the Metaverse and Beyond," examines the privateness trends and practices of 7 of the apical VR devices and recovered that nary of them conscionable the minimum privateness and information requirements recommended to support kids safe.

The study analyzed the privateness policies and practices of the HP Reverb G2, Meta Quest 2, HTC Vive Cosmos Elite, Pimax Vision 5K Super, PlayStation VR, Microsoft HoloLens 2, and Valve Index, and recovered that:

1. Users are tracked from the infinitesimal they enactment connected immoderate of these VR devices.
2. Sensitive information collected successful virtual world is shared with 3rd parties for profit.
3. Privacy policies were unclear oregon said delicate information is utilized for targeted advertising, third-party marketing, and tracking purposes.
4. None of these devices usage privateness by design.
5. They each displayed third-party advertizing to users.

Additionally, the headsets deficiency circumstantial protections for kids nether 13 who usage these devices. Among the privateness practices evaluated successful the report, much than fractional (57%) of the devices person nary parental controls, and little than a 3rd had immoderate information settings astatine all.

"VR companies, conscionable similar immoderate different tech institution that targets teens, indispensable usage a privacy-by-design attack to make contented and experiences that are age-appropriate, safe, and adhere to the strongest privateness protections possible. Anything little than that is unacceptable due to the fact that the stakes are excessively high," says James P. Steyer, laminitis and CEO of Common Sense Media. "We request to guarantee that harmless spaces beryllium successful virtual world for kids and teens to connect, play, and larn without the menace of encountering  assorted forms of harassment and privateness risks that presently tally rampant successful the metaverse and beyond."

According to the report, VR devices cod overmuch much information than mobile apps and websites—including assemblage posture, oculus gaze, pupil dilation, gestures, facial expressions, and adjacent infinitesimal variations successful tegument color. A user's assemblage movements successful VR are tracked much than 100 times per second, which means that spending 30 minutes oregon much successful a VR simulation tin cod implicit 2 cardinal unsocial information points.

"The bottommost enactment is that each VR instrumentality we tested exploits users' delicate information for profit, truthful we can't urge immoderate of these devices to parents arsenic being harmless for kids," says Girard Kelly, privateness programme manager astatine Common Sense. "However, immoderate of the devices we reviewed bash person options disposable to crook disconnected immoderate of the astir problematic information postulation and information settings. But that puts the onus connected the genitor oregon caregiver to navigate hard-to-find and analyzable privateness and information options successful bid to support kids safe."

Meta Quest 2, arguably the astir fashionable VR headset connected the marketplace (Meta owns astir 90% of the VR headset marketplace share), received the third-lowest privateness standing (55% Warning), ranking lone up of Valve Index (50%) and Primax Vision 5K (30%). Meta's privateness argumentation says it does not merchantability user information but that it does prosecute successful everything else, including third-party marketing, targeted ads, third-party tracking, tracking users crossed the internet, and generating advertisement profiles based connected the idiosyncratic information it collects. Microsoft's HoloLens 2 received the highest privateness standing (75%), but similar the different six headsets that were evaluated, they each failed to conscionable the minimum privateness and information requirements recommended to support kids safe.

The information was collected and analyzed by the Common Sense Privacy Program, a squad of attorneys and experts successful privacy, law, machine science, education, academia, and nationalist policy. The probe squad rated products connected a 100-point standard crossed 155 unsocial valuation questions.

The afloat study tin beryllium downloaded here.

About Common Sense Media
Common Sense is the nation's starring nonprofit enactment dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and autarkic dependable they request to thrive successful the 21st century. Learn much astatine commonsensemedia.org.

About Common Sense Privacy Program
The Common Sense Privacy Program evaluates fashionable applications and services for children, protects kid and pupil privacy, and supports a much unafraid integer aboriginal for kids everywhere. Our evaluations assistance parents and educators recognize the analyzable policies and presumption related to fashionable tools utilized successful homes and classrooms crossed the country.

The Common Sense Privacy Program is supported by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation.

Media Contacts
Lorena Taboas, Media Relations Manager
[email protected]
(786) 521-4215

Lisa Cohen
[email protected]
(310) 395-2544

SOURCE Common Sense Media