The next generation of the Internet is quickly approaching, and it’s called “The Metaverse”. Heavily backed by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, the upcoming immersive web is dipping deep into dystopia. However, while some might be fine with Metaverse immersion, they might be fine with Metaverse tracking.
Much like social media and invasive websites, Zuckerberg's future internet has the potential to track users more than ever before. In fact, multiple aspects of Metaverse tracking are already in development.
Metaverse tracking can monitor facial expressions, pulse and breathing
Reported by Business Insider, the next generation of Internet advertisements will be more invasive than before. As the Internet starts to move away from third-party cookies, many corporations are coming up with new ways of tracking users.
With Zuckerberg’s plans to own The Metaverse, Facebook's combination of hardware and software will give them the edge. From Oculus Quest headsets to heartrate monitors, there are already multiple ways of tracking a user’s biometrics. For example, the next-gen Oculus headset is already planning to track facial animations.
However, as all of this immersive tech gets incorporated, Metaverse tracking will only get more intensive. Additionally, this full body tracking will help corporations to serve user's with the most tempting ads possible.
Inside The Metaverse, every action can be monitored. Your facial expressions, heart rate and more can all be matched against activities and advertisements to match you with “better” as opportunities.
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Is it time for data reform?
Metaverse tracking is ripe for data harvesting, an activity that massive social media companies have already been criticised for. However, without regulation, there's nothing to stop Zuckerberg's Metaverse from knowing your every reaction to every conceivable prompt.
In the Insider piece, AR innovator Louis Rosenberg claimed that third parties will always be “pulling the strings”. The AR veteran has often spoken out against the Metaverse’s purpose of breaking down our “reliable reality” into a split adscape.
Rosenberg argues that companies and worlds inside The Metaverse should only be able to hold user data for “short periods of time”. This restriction would stop the technology from being used to further tempt users with ads every step of the way.
However, if Metaverse technology is going to eventually become a secondary reality, those restrictions aren't enough. Zuckerberg wants a future where work, play and relaxation are all done in his virtual land. If that’s so, then The Metaverse shouldn't be able to constantly track its population.
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