Meta Horizon Worlds is now available for teens ages 13 to 17 and children ages 10 to 12 (age may vary by region) with a parent-managed Meta account.
Created by Meta (formerly Facebook) for Meta Quest mixed reality headsets, mobile devices and web browsers, Meta Horizon Worlds enables people to explore and socialize as avatars in virtual “worlds.” Parents and guardians of teen and preteen users should know about some important safety features and parental supervision tools to help them navigate these worlds safely.
The information in this guide pertains to Meta Horizon Worlds and does not apply to apps from other companies that you can download to a Meta Quest headset. We wrote this guide for parents and guardians, but it may also be helpful for teens and adults who want to learn about the safe use of Horizon Worlds. Parents of preteen users should refer to our guide on parent-managed Meta accounts for more details on managing their child’s overall experience on Meta Quest.
Is Horizon Worlds a game?
Horizon Worlds is a social experience where people can hang out and talk with others, explore, attend concerts and events, and, yes, play games in virtual spaces that can feel like you’re walking around a 3D cartoon.
Some worlds were created by Meta, but most were created by other developers, including members of the Horizon Worlds community. Users can explore Horizon Worlds or create their own worlds for others to visit. Horizon Worlds can be accessed as an immersive virtual experience using Meta Quest headsets and Meta-made Oculus Rift S headsets. It can also be accessed on the web and via the Meta Horizon mobile app. Meta Horizon Worlds is free, but people can purchase premium in-world virtual items from select creators.
Is this the “metaverse”?
The metaverse is not here yet, but Horizon Worlds is part of what it will eventually become. The metaverse requires interoperability between platforms, virtual items, avatars and worlds. It will be made up of many interconnected virtual experiences. There are aspects of Horizon Worlds that give a glimpse of what the metaverse might be like with its avatars and portals to other immersive Horizon Worlds experiences, but at this time, there are limited ways to move between virtual environments operated by different companies. That could change in the future. One day, your avatar may play a game in Roblox and then move seamlessly to Horizon Worlds to meet a friend, much like we walk around a mall visiting different businesses.
Start with the Meta Horizon app
To access Horizon Worlds, you must first create a Meta account in the Meta Horizon app on a mobile device. If you have a Facebook or Instagram account, you can use that to streamline the sign-up process. Otherwise, you can use your email address. One important caveat: If your teen signs up using their Facebook or Instagram account, Meta will accept whatever age they used for that account. As we stress elsewhere in this guide, it’s especially important that Meta accounts be based on an accurate age, so it might be best for your teen to start from scratch by using an email account to sign up.
For the Meta account, users choose how private or public to be to other users (e.g., you can decide whether you need to approve followers, who can see your activity, who can know when you’re online, and who can see what apps you use, etc.). For teens and parent-managed meta accounts, the profile is defaulted to private. The followers for your Meta Horizon profile are the same as your Horizon Worlds followers.
Parents who share a headset with their teens will need to switch accounts (if they have already enabled multiple accounts) or sign out of their account when they’re done because the headset doesn’t automatically sign out of the last account used.
If you turn on app sharing, you can share apps between accounts on your device, eliminating the need to re-purchase those apps. Meta’s Code of Conduct for Virtual Experiences defines what conduct and content are prohibited in any app on the Meta Horizon platform.
Horizon Worlds also has the Meta Horizon Worlds Content Guidelines, which describes what content is not allowed on the platform and indicates when a world needs to be labeled mature (for an 18+ audience). Teens under 18 are not able to see or access 18+-rated worlds or events.
Meta Quest teen parental supervision tools
Parent supervision tools allow parents and guardians to see the teen’s follower list, headset activity, screen time, block access to social features like calls and chats, and block access to apps, including Horizon Worlds.
To initiate the tools, the parent or guardian sends an invite to the teen, or the teen can send an invite to the parent or guardian. We recommend families set up parent supervision tools, especially for new or younger users.
Parental supervision tools also unlock supervision features in Horizon Worlds. These allow the parent to control certain safety settings such as personal boundary (distance between avatars) and voice channel (whether other’s audio is audible ). For more, see ConnectSafely’s guide to Meta VR parent supervision tools as well as our Family Guide to Parental Controls. Parental involvement is much more than just using tools, as discussed in this guide under “Talking to your teen about safety in Horizon Worlds.”
Additional parental supervision tools for parent-managed Meta accounts
Parent-managed Meta accounts offer additional default settings and features to make it even easier for parents to manage their child’s experience. When a parent grants permission for their child to access Meta Horizon Worlds, their child will gain access to a small group of age-appropriate starter worlds.
To further manage access to content, parents can also choose if they want their child to have access to all worlds rated ages 10+, ages 10+ and ages 13+, or require their child to request access to each world on an individual basis that can be approved through parental supervision tools.
For parent-managed Meta accounts, voice chat only works for an approved contact for children ages 10-12 (age may vary by region), all other voices in Horizon Worlds will be filtered out for the child to sound like quiet, friendly sounds. Other in-world settings like personal boundary is set to on for everyone for parent-managed Meta accounts, preventing children ages 10-12 from getting too close to everyone else. This setting is locked on and cannot be turned off by the parent or child.
Active status settings for parent-managed Meta accounts may only be changed by the parent or guardian and can be turned on or off at any time. By default, no one can see a child’s Active Status.
Age is more than a number
Horizon Worlds and other apps have tools, policies, and other safety precautions for younger users. However, there are protections that won’t work if the platform doesn’t know the user’s age. So it’s critical that your teen gives their real birth year for any account they sign up for. That’s especially true for Horizon Worlds, which restricts users under 18 from seeing or discovering worlds or events labeled 18+, which may include intense violence, sexual content, strong language and/or regulated goods like tobacco or alcohol. A correctly stated age will also prevent adults from contacting minors they aren’t connected with (i.e., following each other).
Understanding and managing risks in mixed reality and Horizon Worlds
Parents and others may be rightfully concerned about the possible risks of mixed and virtual reality. Just like any interactive social experience, possible risks include unwanted or inappropriate contact and communication, inappropriate content for children and teens, false information and propaganda, cyberbullying and harassment, and grooming and sexual solicitation that could lead to online sexual abuse or harmful offline contact.
ConnectSafely has guides and tips that cover these and other risks. Virtual reality has the added factor of greater immersion, which can lead to a more visceral reaction to such things as harassment or simply having someone’s avatar get too close to yours.
With all connected media, there are privacy issues, but mixed reality headset use brings up additional concerns about personal data that could be collected from eye tracking, iris or retina scans, fingerprints and handprints, face geometry, voiceprints and other biometric data. Although Meta doesn’t allow immersive advertising, VR advertising may be more immersive and potentially more impactful. See Meta’s supplemental privacy policy for specific information about Meta Quest and Meta Horizon Worlds.
User-generated worlds
Because some of the worlds within Horizon Worlds are user-generated, there is the risk of worlds that include content or experiences that may be inappropriate or uncomfortable for some users, including teens and preteens.
Meta has rules and procedures to prevent violations of its policies and has implemented age-gating to protect minors (see below), but there is no way to eliminate all risks. Parents can refer to the Meta Horizon Worlds Content Guidelines to help them understand the content in Horizon Worlds. Parents can also use these guidelines, which establish content ratings for worlds and events as 10+,13+ and 18+, to make informed decisions about approving access to worlds for their child with parent-managed Meta accounts supervision tools. See below for the three ratings definitions.
10+: These worlds and events are appropriate for ages 10 and up. They may have mild language, minimal suggestive themes, and/or cartoon, fantasy, or mild violence.
13+: These worlds and events are appropriate for ages 13 and up and may have violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language.
18+: These worlds and events are generally appropriate for people ages 18 and up and may include intense violence, sexual content, strong language and/or regulated goods like tobacco or alcohol. Note: World creators can also give their worlds this rating if they only want adults ages 18 and up to be able to see and visit their world.
Also, like many other social immersive experiences, Horizon Worlds enables some users to create “closed” member-only spaces. Such spaces are not actively moderated by Meta staff and can contain age-inappropriate conduct and a wider range of behaviors that can harm young people. These worlds are automatically “age-gated” for users under 18, which is one of the reasons young people need to be honest about their age when creating an account. Anyone can report underage users at any time, such as those under 18 in a 18+ world, or anyone under 10 who is not old enough for a parent-managed Meta account.
Many of the protective actions in Horizon Worlds are similar to the precautions you would take on all social media, including blocking abusive users, reporting abuse, not disclosing private information, protecting your account, and so on. But because of the highly immersive nature of Horizon Worlds, we cover some additional precautions in this guide.
Physical safety
Although not specific to Horizon Worlds, using a headset that fully covers your eyes raises the risk of physical injury, especially if you’re engaging in an activity where you are encouraged to move around or move your arms and hands. Parents and teens should review the Meta Quest Safety Center and pay attention to the health and safety warnings, including setting up a virtual boundary to “help you stay within your cleared play area.”
Although it doesn’t impact everyone this way, some users have complained about nausea and dizziness, and there is the issue of stress, anxiety, and even fear related to immersive experiences. For example, standing on the edge of a virtual building can elicit fear of falling, even though you may be nowhere near an actual skyscraper. Headsets can sometimes be uncomfortable, especially if worn for long periods, and eye strain is possible. It’s important to wear headsets properly and to take breaks as needed. These risks can all be managed and minimized by understanding and using safety and privacy settings, parental supervision, proper use of the equipment, good behavior and other practices, as discussed in this guide.
Horizon Worlds safety features and settings
Age-gating
Horizon Worlds uses age-gating to keep minors from content and spaces that may be allowed for adults but not people under 18. Age-gating is also used to ensure preteens are only accessing content that has been approved by their parent or guardian. Creators are required to fill out a content rating survey before publishing their world to assign an accurate content rating for their experience. These ratings are applied in accordance with the Meta Horizon Worlds Content Guidelines. Users under 18 cannot discover or access worlds and events with the 18+ rating. Similar to Instagram, there are restrictions in Horizon Worlds to limit interaction between teens and adults who don’t follow each other and further limit unwanted interaction between teens and adults. Age-gating is one of several features designed to keep youth safe in Horizon Worlds. Unfortunately, there are children and teens who lie about their age when setting up their Meta account, and if not corrected, it can give them access to experiences that are not age-appropriate. Parents and guardians must ensure their kids are honest about their age when signing up for Horizon Worlds and other platforms. If you or your teen encounter someone in Horizon Worlds who you suspect is under 18 in an 18+ experience or under 10 in any experience, you can report that individual in the app by navigating to your personal user interface, locating them in the people tab, and selecting “Report” or go to this Meta web page to report the user.
Moderation
There are two types of moderators in Horizon Worlds. Community guides are Meta-employed ambassadors who are present in some public worlds to welcome players and show them around. Their role is to encourage positive behavior and point users to available safety tools. They can also warn, report and remove users from certain Meta worlds like Horizon Central, the hub people use to access other experiences. In some worlds, you might encounter a community moderator. Unlike community guides, which are employed by Meta, these are Meta Horizon Worlds users who have agreed to help moderate these spaces in real time. They have the ability to intervene in situations, helping to ensure the space you enjoy spending time in remains a comfortable and positive experience. These moderators are here to help, but they should not be considered a replacement for reporting policy-violating behavior to Meta. It’s important for parents to understand that not all worlds have guides or moderators, and many rely on community members to report bad behavior, policy violations and underage users. For parent-managed Meta accounts, moderators and guides cannot voice chat with the child unless the user is a parent-approved contact.
Pause
Pause is a top tool for safety. It can be used to quickly pause the action when a person or your surroundings makes you uncomfortable without leaving the world. Make sure your child knows how to enable pause quickly. From here, people can block, mute or report others. Pause can be accessed by using the wristband on the avatar wearable and selecting the shield icon.
Personal boundary
Personal boundary keeps other avatars from coming too close. The boundary is on by default for ‘people you don’t know’, but it can also be on for everyone or off for everyone. We recommend teens keep the personal boundary default setting on, and this setting is locked as ‘on for everyone’ for teens. For parent-managed Meta accounts, it remains locked as ‘on for everyone’. Additionally, if someone is attempting to touch the user’s avatar, their hand will fade away. This isn’t a setting that can be adjusted; it’s on for everyone. To access personal boundary settings, go to Settings > Safety. Note: Parents can control this feature using Meta Horizon Worlds parental supervision tools.
Voice channel settings
By default, users will hear all nearby users at the same volume, but with voice channel settings, users can easily switch to filtered voices, in which non-friends voices come across as unintelligible, friendly sounds. The default setting for teens is to filter all voices except “people you know.” We recommend teens keep this setting on while preteens have all voice audio filtered except for approved contacts. To access voice channel settings, go to Settings > Sounds. Note: Parents can control this feature using Meta Horizon Worlds parental supervision tools.
“Poll to Remove” from a world
If someone is being disruptive, any player can anonymously request other players to vote on whether to remove that person from that instance of the world. The person will be removed if a majority of people in that instance vote for removal. An instance is a copy of a world, and if a person is removed from that instance, they can still join another instance of that world. If they reenter the world, they will be in a different instance with different people. To access Poll to Remove, look at your wristwatch and select the shield icon. Select the user’s nameplate and poll to remove.
Block
You can anonymously block others so you don’t see or hear that person, and they don’t see or hear you. It does not remove them from the world at that time, but in the future, you will be notified if the person you blocked is present in a world. To block, look at your wristband and select the shield icon. Select the nameplate above the person’s avatar and block.
Mute
You can mute other people if they are too loud or say things you don’t want to hear. You can also mute your own microphone. To mute other people, look at your wristwatch and select the shield icon. Select the user’s nameplate and mute. Some worlds also have a feature called mute assist enabled, which may be helpful to teens. It automatically prompts the user with a shortcut to mute other players if they are using questionable language.
Report
Report others you believe may have violated the Code of Conduct for Virtual Experiences. The service automatically captures a rolling video of the last two minutes of your experience, which normally remains on your device but can be attached to any reports. You can also report people suspected of being underage. Reporting is anonymous and will result in a review of the reported conduct by Meta personnel, who will decide whether the behavior violates their policies and, if so, take appropriate action. To report, look at your wristband and select the shield icon. Select the user’s nameplate and report.
Privacy controls in Horizon Worlds
Privacy controls, accessible under your teen’s profile image in Horizon Worlds, allow them to choose whether their followers can see if they are active in Horizon Worlds or where they are within Horizon Worlds. Both of these settings are off by default for teens and preteens.
See what your child’s seeing in their headset via Casting
You can watch your child explore Horizon Worlds (or any app on a Quest headset) by casting the video from the headset to a compatible device screen. It’s a good way to explore together and talk about safety strategies and what to do if they encounter anything that makes them uncomfortable. Learn more about casting here.
Talking to your child about safety in Horizon Worlds
Technology solutions, including Meta’s parental supervision tools, have their place but are no substitute for conversations between parents and teens. At the end of the day, it’s the software between the teen’s ears that helps them stay safe online, in virtual reality, and in the physical world, now and later on. Have regular conversations with your child about how they use their mixed reality headset, Horizon Worlds and other connected technologies, but don’t make them lectures or inquisitions. It’s important to listen to them, too. Conversations can be short and casual, but regular communication is important. You can start by asking them what they like about Horizon Worlds, what they enjoy doing there, and how they protect their privacy and safety. You might be surprised how much they know and might learn some things to help you navigate the online world. Ask them to show you around their “worlds” or perhaps a world that they think you might enjoy. You may or may not get hooked on mixed reality, but you will learn how it works, why many people find it compelling and be in a better position to talk with your kids about their own experiences. Do remind your kids that they are in control over their experiences in Horizon Worlds and go over some of the safety tools and tips covered in this guide, including blocking, reporting, pause and setting personal boundaries.
Closing thoughts for parents
Even tech-savvy parents have a hard time keeping up with technology, especially when new paradigms, such as virtual and augmented reality, challenge us even further. But don’t despair. Just like you don’t have to be an automotive engineer to drive a car, you can learn to understand how your kids are using Meta Quest or how to use it yourself without knowing the nuts and bolts of how it works. We at ConnectSafely can’t predict the future, so we don’t know what technologies will emerge or which ones will become popular. But we know that the technology will evolve, and there will be new concerns and safety strategies while the basic principles of staying safe will remain the same. Whether we’re talking about new experiences, like Horizon Worlds, or “older” ones like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok or Facebook, it’s all about knowing how to protect your privacy, security and safety not only by following the app’s guidelines and using the available tools but by applying the same critical thinking skills and good judgment that you have been teaching your kids since they were babies. Smart practices, such as treating others how you want to be treated, utilizing privacy settings in an age-appropriate way, and maintaining a healthy balance of on- and offline activities, will help ensure a positive experience in Horizon Worlds or just about any other app on Meta Quest or any other platform.
When it comes to technology – especially virtual reality – there’s a good chance that your teen knows more than you do, but you still have an essential role to play. Parents are still the people most teens look to for advice and a value system that will carry them successfully into adulthood. Open, non-judgmental discussions and genuine interest, not fear, in the apps, games and services they use are a great way to put into practice your family’s values and help your teen grow into the adult they are meant to be. So, no matter what tech your kids use, it’s important to keep the lines of communication as open as possible and to have ongoing conversations about what’s appropriate for them in terms of privacy settings, time spent online, and the types of activities they’re engaging in. It generally works better to talk with your teen about their favorite tools because they’re more likely to come to you when they need help, and you’re much more likely to be kept in the loop about the technology they use.
Meta provides financial support to ConnectSafely. ConnectSafely is solely responsible for the content of this guide.