Meta will soon allow kids ages 10 to 12 to interact with others in VR with parental approval

goal announced on Wednesday that users ages 10 to 12 will soon be able to interact with others in VR if they have parental approval to do so. Until now, children have not been able to chat or interact with other Quest users.

In a future update, Meta is adding the ability for parents to individually add approved contacts that their children can chat or call, and send or accept invitations to join them in parent-approved VR experiences.

By opening up its VR experiences to kids, Meta hopes younger users will become familiar with the technology, which could make them more likely to use it as they get older. It could also help Meta take on other companies like Roblox and Microsoft’s Minecraft, both of which are popular with young users.

Meta explains that users will only become approved contacts when a parent adds them. Parents can manage approved contacts by adding them to their child’s Followers and Followers list. Kids can request a follower to become an approved contact, and parents have the option to delete an approved contact at any time.

Last year, Meta reduced the recommended age for using his Quest headset from age 13 to 10. The company then launched parent-managed accounts that give users ages 10 to 12 access to age-appropriate VR experiences on Quest.

VR is a relatively newer technology and the risks associated with its use are still somewhat unknown, which has raised concerns about child safety on the part of country, rights groupsIt is researchers.

Meta’s decision to bring social features to children’s Quest accounts comes as Congress is putting greater pressure on social media companies like Meta, TikTok and Snapchat to protect children on their platforms.