Oculus Quest 2 owners can address Facebook directly while using the headset to perform certain tasks with the phrase “Hey Facebook.”
The new opt-in experimental feature launches today with the Oculus Quest 2 headset, with plans to expand the feature to the original Quest over time. Facebook says: “Quest does not listen to the ‘Hey Facebook’ password when the microphone is turned off, or when the headset is asleep or off.” You can also disable the feature once it is turned on, according to an industry blog post.
The feature works with Facebook’s existing voice commands that started last year. There is a complete list of these on the Oculus Support website, but some include launching apps, recording games, or viewing your views.
From Facebook’s post about the feature:
‘You also have control over whether your voice commands are saved and possibly used to enhance the feature. You can easily view, hear and delete your voice command activity at any time, or even turn off storage in your Settings while still using the voice command feature. It is our responsibility to protect your privacy, and you can learn more about how we do this here.
We are curious how our readers feel about this feature. Of course, Apple uses ‘Hey Siri’ while Google addresses the company itself with ‘Hey Google’, Microsoft uses ‘Hey Cortana’, and Amazon relies on the unusual word ‘Alexa’ to activate its listener constellation.