Facebook is spying on Oculus Rift Users

[PCIsMasterRace]

Source: http://www.techworm.net/2016/04/oculus-rift-vr-headset-software-sending-data-back-facebook-servers.html

Quote

A Reddit user, Woofington found out that an “always on” background service in Oculus Rift software sends information from the virtual reality headset back to Facebook’s servers.

Woofington writes on a reddit thread that after installing the Oculus Home software on the device, a process with full system permissions called OVRServer_x64.exe detects when the device is turned on and sends data to Facebook’s servers.

Users of the Oculus Rift have detected a background program in the Oculus Rift software which sends information to Facebook's servers.

 

Quote

In fact, the Oculus Rift privacy policy takes users consent to its terms and conditions which states that it can use the users data for third party use.

The privacy policy clearly states that “depending on how you access and use” its services, Facebook may collect information about the games, content, apps, and other experiences a user interacts with; a user’s IP address and “certain device identifiers that may be unique to your device”; a device’s precise location based on GPS signal, Wi-Fi networks and cellular towers; and information about a user’s “physical movements and dimensions” when the headset is used.

In the Oculus Rift's privacy policy, it states that information collected by the Oculus Rift, which may include the users physical movements while wearing the Oculus Rift and the users IP address, may be used by third parties.

(Also for those who don't already know, Facebook owns Oculus Rift.)

[Moonzy]

 

this song, except they cant detect your breathing... yet `-`

[manikyath]

i thought this has been in the news for like a week or so...

 

pretty sure it's been covered on wan show, the tek, tech talk, and awesomesauce news already

[vanished]

I can't imagine what they could possibly want with a list of physical movements within a room and your IP, but I guess it's all part of the evil master plan.  As weird as it is, I can't say I'm surprised.

[SQZY98]

7 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

 

this song, except they cant detect your breathing... yet `-`

They could use your mic tho ._.

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, SQZY98 said:

They could use your mic tho ._.

oh lord no D:

[Suika]

The only reason this is so frustrating is that the Oculus Rift is ALSO $650. So Facebook is making a decent amount off the unit itself AND harvesting information from every unit? Yea I'm HTC Vive all the way now.

[Moonzy]

4 minutes ago, Suika said:

I'm HTC Vive all the way now

the question is, who isnt? `-`

[TheRetiredSlave]

10 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

this song, except they cant detect your breathing... yet `-`

Ever noticed how your videogame characters breathing doesn't match up to your own? Now with Oculus Respire™ Technology, you can! To enhance your immersion in the VR experience, now your breaths can have an affect on your gameplay! You know how you "hold your breath" to steady your rifle scope shooters? Now you can do that by literally holding your breath! 

Breath data is "anonomized" before it's sold to medical device companies.

 

[TetraSky]

12 minutes ago, Suika said:

Yea I'm HTC Vive all the way now.

I was too. Then I saw the Canadian pricing and I was all "NOPE". At $1150 CAD, I'm gonna wait for gen 2... or 3.

[vanished]

12 minutes ago, Suika said:

The only reason this is so frustrating is that the Oculus Rift is ALSO $650. So Facebook is making a decent amount off the unit itself AND harvesting information from every unit? Yea I'm HTC Vive all the way now.

Are they?  I can't remember which one it was (vive or rift) but I had heard that they were selling these things pretty close to cost as is (... and it is still expensive, but that's another story).  Is that true or not?

[ThinkWithPortals]

ALERT: Paranoia Level at 235% and rising.

Warning! Paranoia approaching dangerous levels.

Please press any key to enable tin-foil hat protocol and activate all available privacy measures.

[captain cactus]

It's Facebook, what the hell did you expect?

 

These kinds of terms and conditions should be made very illegal by law, and anybody breaking it gets their product(s) removed from stores and a massive fine that it must pay to all their users.

[dimitriianghelov]

the steam fanboys are really going all out on Oculus, when you can't find real faults you just make them up , actually Oculus is "checking for updates" , but that doesn't stop the fanboys from lying .

 

 

[suicidalfranco]

oculus rift scraped off of my wish-list

[Monkey Dust]

It's Facebook, even if they're not at the moment (and it probably is too early in the products life to have this up and running now) they are all about making you share stuff with the whole internet, whether you want to or not, and crucially sharing your data with 'advertising partners'. It's their business model, I'd expect Google would do the same if they had a VR Headset out.

 

Then again MS backed off when it was revealed the XBone with kinect could potentially tell if you were in the room for forced commercial viewing, they quickly scrapped that idea in the face of the negative publicity. The Rift isn't free, far from it, so an expectation that it isn't harvesting as much data as it can, for sale to whoever want to give FB some cash, is not an unreasonable one. I expect FB will try to see what the market will stand, and that they will have to back off.

[Misanthrope]

Oh I would troll the fuck out of them, probably practice my Buffalo Bill routine 10 times per day:

Spoiler

 

 

[aisle9]

And people were expecting Facebook not to do this?

[niofalpha]

... Not even gonna bother including Oculus's response? 

 

If this was the Vive no one would care. But since it's big, evil facebook everyone's going crazy...

[deviant88]

thats why we cant have nice things

[Suika]

46 minutes ago, niofalpha said:

... Not even gonna bother including Oculus's response? 

....So are you not going to bother to elaborate by including Oculus' response?

[LAwLz]

32 minutes ago, niofalpha said:

... Not even gonna bother including Oculus's response? 

I can't find their response, and you did not include it either. Got a link?

 

Someone in the Reddit thread also pointed this out in the TOS:

Quote

Information Automatically Collected About You When You Use Our Services. We also collect information automatically when you use our Services. Depending on how you access and use our Services, we may collect information such as:

 

*Information about your interactions with our Services, like information about the games, content, apps or other experiences you interact with, and information collected in or through cookies, local storage, pixels, and similar technologies (additional information about these technologies is available at https://www.oculus.com/en-us/cookies-pixels-and-other-technologies/);

Wait, cookies and pixels? That sounds weird. Let's check it out:

Quote

 We may use cookies or other local storage technologies in combination with other information we collect in order to enhance and personalize your experience on our Services, including:

• to help you log on to our Services;
• to provide a shopping cart on our Services where you can make purchases;
• to understand how people use our Services;
• to protect against fraud; and
• to deliver, understand and improve our marketing efforts.

So wait... If I buy an Oculus Rift they will use flash cookies to collect info about me and "improve their marketing efforts"? Oh and "understand how people use our Services" as well. Yeah.. That's bullshit and does not belong on a virtual reality headset. But what are these pixels they referred to?

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Pixels are small pieces of code on webpages that do things like allow another server to measure viewing of a webpage and often are used in connection with cookies.

Oh, so it allows Facebook to track you when you browse the Internet. I'm sorry if I am stupid, but I don't see why Oculus want to see which web pages I look at, or how that will improve my VR experience when I for example play games.

 

I would not raise my pitchfork just yet though. I don't have a Rift so I can't analyze the connection, and I did not see anyone in the Reddit thread doing it either, so maybe it is harmless data? I very much doubt it, but I like having evidence when I call a company terrible and evil.

 

Side note: Reading this thread right now is pretty funny. So many people blindly trusting Palmer and Zuckerberg.

[JAKEBAB]

Lol. It's finally been posted! Will not be touching Oculus with a 10ft pole nor will i be touching Vive if it has the same policy.

 

Also for Oculus response here :http://uploadvr.com/oculus-responds-to-facebook-privacy-concerns/ I suggest you read the last paragraph of the unedited version lol.

[niofalpha]

54 minutes ago, Suika said:

....So are you not going to bother to elaborate by including Oculus' response?

 

32 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

I can't find their response, and you did not include it either. Got a link?

 

I'm sorry, I expected people to have the ability to use a google search, and I didn't feel like doing the OP's work for him.

 

Quote

“Facebook owns Oculus and helps run some Oculus services, such as elements of our infrastructure,” Oculus told UploadVR in an email, “but we’re not sharing information with Facebook at this time. We don’t have advertising yet and Facebook is not using Oculus data for advertising .”

http://uploadvr.com/oculus-responds-to-facebook-privacy-concerns/

[LAwLz]

14 minutes ago, niofalpha said:

http://uploadvr.com/oculus-responds-to-facebook-privacy-concerns/

That response is absolute garbage.

I like the "at this time" part, which implies that they will in the future. Same with "don't have advertising yet", but they may consider it in the future.

It is also worth noting that the email does not specify at all what data they are collecting. It gives an example of what they collect, but that might be one out of 100 things they collect.

 

The only thing that email says is:

1) They are considering sharing data with Facebook.

2) They are collecting data, and won't tell us exactly what or why.

3) They may implement ads in the future.

 

If that email was meant to calm me down then it failed miserably. In fact, it had the opposite effect because all I see is a really carefully worded email which is deliberately crafted in a way that makes it possible for them to do all the things people fear they might do. The email does not even rule out the possibility that Oculus are gathering information they will use for ads. It only says they aren't showing ads right now, which everyone already knew.