🐢 Happy Friday everyone! I saw a turtle on the street this morning and moved him to safety. I hope the little guy made it home ok…

Facebook drops account requirements for Meta Quest headsets

VR fans rejoice! Oculus headsets, which now bear the Meta brand, will no longer require a Facebook account to use. These have long been some of the best VR headsets on the market, with the only real downside being the need to tie a Facebook account (and all of the data that comes with it) to your device to use it.

Reversing course:

• Facebook first added the requirement in 2020, to great controversy.
• The company has consistently come up in the news for privacy violations, with many people opting to delete their Facebook profiles altogether.
• All new users were required to sign up through Facebook, with existing Oculus accounts losing support at the end of 2022.
• You can still keep your Oculus account until the end of 2022, as promised, but after that things will change.

Getting Meta

• Instead, new users will be required to create a Meta account starting in August, in keeping with Zuckerberg’s obsession with the new branding.
• These accounts are not officially tied to a Facebook account, although let’s be honest, they’ll be keeping tabs.
• Meta accounts still need your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, and payment details for buying apps.
• Not to mention a Meta Horizon profile, which serves as your digital avatar and profile in the VR metaverse.
• This may encourage more people to try the entry-level standalone Meta Quest 2 headset, which offers a much better experience than strapping a phone to your face.
• One important distinction is that you can create multiple Meta and Meta Horizon accounts, unlike Facebook.
• This means you could, for example, have one account for VR gaming and one for apps and business.
• Gotta keep things legit while selling virtual real estate.

Roundup

🌱 Here’s our first look at what to expect from the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, although if the render is accurate it doesn’t look like much has changed (Android Authority).

📱 A supposed promo video for the ASUS Zenfone 9 leaked, revealing a compact flagship with a gimbal camera (Android Authority).

🐝 Transformers fan? This Bumblebee Edition phone might be for you. Shame it’s a REDMAGIC 7S Pro, but it still looks pretty hot (Android Authority).

📊 Plex’s recent changes aren’t popular, but our polls show that most users are sticking with it, for now (Android Authority).

🐣 Some users are now testing out Twitter’s ‘CoTweet’ feature, which allows two people to be the author of a single Tweet (The Verge).

🙄 Everyone act surprised: Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter is in peril after his team can’t verify spam account claims (Washington Post, $).

🚗 Google Maps for Android adds a nearby traffic widget centered on your current location (9to5Google).

😱 Disneyland’s social media accounts were hacked, posting not-so-magical messages filled with racism and profanity (Gamespot).

🔊 Netflix brings spatial audio to its lineup of original series and movies, expanding beyond specific Apple devices (Arstechnica).

😔 Emmy- and Oscar-nominated actor James Caan died yesterday, aged 82. Best known for The Godfather, he had a long, varied career, and here are 9 of his films you should stream (NYT).

📺 What is the worst TV show finale? Spoiler warning, obviously (r/askreddit).

Friday fun

I know it gets a lot of hate (and sometimes rightfully so), but I’m here to tell you that TikTok has matured into an excellent social media platform.

Hear me out.

There’s still plenty of dancing and silly teenager stuff (learn the latest TikTok slang if you want to fit in), but the algorithm is excellent at identifying what you want to watch and showing you more of it. This has created some excellent communities that I highly recommend you check out before writing off the platform for good. Here is a short list of some interesting niches:

• BookTok: Need a book recommendation? This community has it all, no matter which genre you’re into.
• ArtTok: Illustrators, painters, digital artists, and more show their processes and give tips.
• RugTok: This one is a personal favorite of mine. It’s dedicated to rug tufting artists making custom rugs.
• CoffeeTok: Learn how to brew the perfect cup, or just enjoy the aesthetic.
• PlantTok: You don’t need a garden to enjoy plants! These are all about house plants.
• KeebTok: Everything mechanical keyboards. Hide your wallet.
• TechTok: A potpourri of tech topics, from phones to PCs and more.
• FinTok: Personal finance advice. Always take with a grain of salt.

Your Fellow Kid,

Nick Fernandez, Editor