Facebook is set to test ads inside its Oculus Quest virtual reality system. In the next couple of weeks, ads will start showing up inside the Resolution Games title "Blaston," as well as two other unnamed apps.
Facebook will later expand the system based on user feedback, stating that it aims to create a self-sustaining platform or VR development.
Facebook's Oculus Quest Ads
The social media giant introduced ads on the Oculus mobile app in May, and it's used limited Oculus data to target Facebook advertising since 2019, but this is the first major adjustment to putting ads inside the Oculus VR platform itself.
Facebook said in a blog post that once they see how the test goes and incorporate feedback from developers and the community, they will provide more details on when ads may become more broadly available across the Oculus platforms and the Oculus mobile app to The Verge.
As for Facebook's non-VR apps, users can block specific posts or companies from appearing in ad slots. Facebook stated it is not changing how it collects or analyzes user information, according to Reuters.
Facebook says that some of the sensitive data, like raw images from Oculus headset cameras and weight or height information from Oculus Move fitness tracking, remain on users' devices.
Also, Facebook stated that it has no plans to target ads based on movement data or recordings from its voice assistant.
A Facebook spokesperson says the system will use information from the user's Facebook profile. It will also detect whether the user has viewed content, activated, installed, or subscribed to an Oculus app, added an app to the cart, or wishlist.
The system will also detect if the user has initiated checkout or purchased an app on the Oculus platform, and whether they've viewed, saved, hovered, or clicked on an ad within a third-party app.
Users can click an ad and choose whether to open it or save the link later. Opening the ad link will launch a page in the Oculus Quest's web browser while saving the link will save the ad in the Quest in-VR experience and Oculus mobile app's Explore sections.
The developers will get a share of the revenue from ads in their apps, but Facebook is not publicly revealing the percentage.
Facebook's VR Projects
The spokesperson stated that Facebook has not determined whether ads could eventually appear inside the Oculus Home experience, according to UploadVR.
Facebook also has not yet identified the other apps using advertisements, although it will list additional names in the next couple of weeks.
The first ads look like standard boxes inside game interfaces, but it is exploring other options according to Facebook's blog posts.
Facebook stated that ads are part of an attempt to figure out profitable business options in the growing but a difficult field of VR app development.
Facebook wants to make sure that they are creating a self-sustaining platform that can support a variety of business models that unlock new types of content and audiences.
VR has been an advertising medium for years, with numerous film and TV promotional tie-ins, as well as from major companies like Ikea and McDonald's.
Letting developers integrate advertising could help create a greater incentive to work within Facebook's ecosystem instead of distributing through third-party options.
Related Article: Signal Reveals Too Much Truth About Facebook Ads, Gets Banned From Running Ads
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
