To date, metaverse tech has been primarily used for gaming, fashion, music, and more entertainment-based applications. Including offerings from Decentraland, The Sandbox, Roblox, Gala, and more.

The Web3 space has also seen discussions surrounding the need for an “open metaverse” which is by nature supposed to be a core value of the tech.

Aside from those use cases and discussions others have begun to populate the space, being the use of metaverse technology for workplace solutions — which have subsequently brought on discussions and concerns surrounding the privacy and safety of the overall tech, particularly in the case of Meta.

A Virtual Work Space

“We build Horizon Workrooms as a first step towards a virtual office in the metaverse,” shared Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a recent Meta Connect event, he went on to give examples of how the tech can provide a more immersive meeting place for companies.

Some of the features include spacial audio, which provides a sense of being in a shared room, as well as what Zuckerberg calls “side conversations,” the ability to talk to just the person who is sitting directly next to you in a workroom.

The CEO went on to share plans for Zoom integration, large meeting room support, and “breakout groups”, which allow smaller conversations in the same main room.

Horizon Workrooms plans to also support the importation of 3D models into environments that might be useful for collaborative work between remote designers, architects, and more.

The Tech

During the same presentation, Zuckerberg unveiled the new Quest Pro headset, which features some of the most cutting-edge tech in the retail augmented reality space to date.

“Eventually, we think the Quest could be the only monitor you’ll need,” shared Meta’s Technical Chief Andrew Bosworth.

The Quest Pro comes with a whole new array of features, including updated and additional face-tracking sensors to reflect more natural expressions in virtual worlds, as well as additional outward-facing cameras that create opportunities for cross-over use cases.

I have some thoughts… the VR headsets are coming. pic.twitter.com/6ebMWrXMNj

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) October 14, 2022

Too Good to Be True?

So what’s the problem? That all sounds pretty cool, right? Yes and no.

Following the presentation, several concerns were raised by the Web3 community, including cost-dampening adoption, discomfort, security and privacy exploits, and more.

The first roadblock that might make adoption of this tech impossible outside of large corporations is its cost, the new Quest Pro retails at nearly $1,500 USD — making it the most expensive offering from Meta yet.

Other concerns include the fact that a portion of users experience motion sickness and that the size of the hardware still makes it an inconvenience in comparison to just hopping on a Zoom call or Google Meet session.

Probably the most significant concern though would be that of privacy and security of personal information in the metaverse.

As pointed out by the Punk6529 team, the new facial sensors that make for the ability to express a more realistic smile in the metaverse, also act as an area that could be exploited and potentially lead to identity theft.

Other privacy areas include potential centralized access to the hardware audio files, which Meta says can only be accessed in light of a report, and that the data is stored locally until then — however the validity of those statements is unclear at the time of writing, as Meta has yet to make its platform open source.

5/ “Meta also asks Horizon users to consent to having their audio recorded. (If they refuse, they can’t talk in Horizon.) Audio is stored on a user’s headset, according to the company, and sent to Meta only if someone files a report . . .

— 6529Guardian (@6529Guardian) October 9, 2022

Early Days

This is the world of emerging tech though, even social applications and hardware devices like smartphones are still constantly undergoing new laws and regulatory changes.

What is important is for consumers to be aware of the agreements they are signing when interacting with tech like Meta’s Quest Pro and in the metaverse in general. Being aware of the pros, cons, and potential trade-offs is as much a consumer responsibility as it is the entity providing the products and services.

Should platforms like Meta prove to be centralized or a security risk in the future, users will have to choose to take their participation elsewhere or build a platform that works for them.

These are still the early days of metaverse applications and a great amount of trial and error is likely still to come as the tech is refined — a fact that is reflected in the stock price of Meta itself, which is down over 60 percent since the company shifted towards the metaverse.

In other news, Hypemoon explores SEBA’s NFT custody wallet, to see if it will be able to protect holders from hacks.