The Oculus Quest 2 is getting expanded voice command functionality with a new wake phrase: ‘Hey Facebook’. The same feature is also being released to Portal devices, with plans to have it rolled out to older Quest devices in the future.
According to an Oculus blog post, the new ‘Hey Facebook’ phrase can be used to preface commands like ‘open Supernatural’ or ‘take a screenshot’ much like how saying ‘Hey Alexa’ activates your Amazon Echo.
This new opt-in feature won’t be available right away on every device - and could take about a week to get to everyone - nor will it be replacing the current methods of turning on voice commands - such as double-tapping the controller button. However, it won’t alleviate any fan concerns about increased Oculus and Facebook integration.
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Two services, one owner
Oculus already sparked annoyance from fans after it was revealed that if your Facebook account and Oculus profile are linked, deleting your Facebook takes away all of your Oculus purchases and progress.
Important VR PSA: 👉 Deactivating your Facebook profile disables your Oculus Profile.👉 Deleting your Facebook account takes away all your games, purchases, and progress.Source: Eli Schwartz pic.twitter.com/dSJIcIf0kiOctober 22, 2020
While these voice commands aren’t on the same scale, they will act as a constant reminder to users that Facebook is - and likely always will be - an integral part of Oculus devices.
If you want to stave off this latest feature as long as possible you shouldn’t have too much to worry about. ‘Hey Facebook’ voice commands are currently an optional feature and if your mic or headset is turned off, there’s no way it can listen to you even if it wanted.
