Working Together to Protect People’s Privacy

Protecting the privacy of people who use our products is an ongoing commitment we share with all of you, our developer partners who build experiences on the platform—and it’s critical to maintaining a safe and thriving developer ecosystem. Together, we need to deliver a safe ecosystem that users can trus t—one that they’ll feel confident investing in over the long term.

In order to continue offering a safe and secure platform, we're launching a few new developer requirements related to the Developer Data Use Policy: Privacy VRCs and the Data Protection Assessment program. In addition to Data Use Checkup, which launched in 2020, these initiatives enhance privacy and data security protections and clarify requirements for accessing the platform features.

In 2020, we announced Data Use Checkup, a developer certification process to confirm your access to platform features and data use complies with the Developer Data Use Policy. As a reminder, as of October 1, 2021, all apps that request access to User Data via platform features will need to complete Data Use Checkup and renew this certification annually to maintain access to platform features. Detailed instructions on how to complete Data Use Checkup can be found here.

If you previously completed Data Use Checkup and are due to recertify, you’ll receive an email notification and alert on the developer dashboard that indicates your deadline for completion. Apps that don’t complete the certification before their deadline will lose access to the relevant platform features.

We’re taking a closer look at every app’s privacy policy to make sure they're in line with the Developer Data Use Policy and privacy VRCs that will be required for all apps on our platform. All privacy policies should include:

If changes to your privacy policy are needed, the admin of your organization will receive an email and notification in your developer dashboard asking you to update your link or policy by a specified deadline. Apps that haven’t made the necessary updates by the deadline will be removed from the Meta Horizon Store until the changes are made.

Platform features that access a user's most sensitive personal data may come with a requirement to complete a Data Protection Assessment (DPA). When necessary, that request will go to the Admins of your Organization via email. Should you receive this email, please prioritize filling out the DPA questionnaire.