Stop using your Facebook, Google and Apple accounts
Here’s another important reason for why you should stop using your Facebook, Google and Apple accounts for anything that’s important to you. Apart from the 30-day bans that Facebook has become known for, they’re now also completely blocking accounts used by people to register their Quest 2 VR headsets. The Quest 2 is made by Oculus which is a company owned by Facebook, and to be able to use that product it requires you to have a Facebook account. Why anyone would buy a Quest 2 after knowing this is beyond me; you’d have to be absolutely fucking stupid to do that, given all that we know about Facebook. But hey, we seem to be living among ignorant and irrational sheep so they went ahead and bought the Quest 2 anyway, only to be locked out of their Facebook accounts rendering their expensive purchase useless. Here’s from Upload VR, “Facebook’s Account Verification Leaves Some Quest 2 Buyers With ‘Paperweight’” (October 14th 2020):
Quest 2 is the first Oculus headset to require a Facebook account at launch. False positives from its account verification system may be leaving some buyers with no choice but to return it.
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Others trying to re-activate old accounts to use their brand new Quest 2 also report instant suspensions. Trying to create a new account also fails.
If the review fails or your account is suspended, there appears to be no recourse for appeal. Multiple buyers called the system a “paperweight” in their emails to us about their interactions with customer service and what they feel like they can do with the latest VR headset on the market. In an emailed statement, a Facebook spokesperson said Quest 2 customers should contact Oculus Customer support to work through issues.
Those customers now appear to be ping-ponging between Oculus customer support and Facebook because Oculus has no way to unlock Facebook accounts. You can find another fine Quest 2 horror story on Reddit. Facebook requires users who are locked out to send in all kinds of personal information including photos of their passports or selfie videos but those don’t seem to help either.
And to think that Facebook wants to get into cryptocurrencies and global online payments with their wallet called Calibra. Can you imagine using that after the demonstration that they gave us with the Quest 2? Imagine receiving a 30-day ban on your Facebook account for “hate speech” or violation of “community standards” and not being able to get your money. Or forever being locked out of your account and your money. I assure you, there are enough dumb sheep walking around on this planet who are going to let Facebook abuse them like that. Don’t be one of those.
Similar stories of users suddenly being locked out of their accounts and not being able to contact anyone are piling up on the Internet as well for Google. Here’s a recent one (discussed on Hacker News); sudden loss of all access to your personal data, including photos, documents, emails etc. That’s what happens when you don’t know the dangers of relying on Software As A Service. You’ll also find plenty of stories of Google developer accounts being taken down, not to mention apps.
The same thing is also happening with Apple. There are constant stories of developers being locked out of their Apple accounts, apps being taken down because of all kinds of vague reasons and new rules and restrictions. Epic Games, for example, are now fighting against Apple for being forced to implement certain functionalities in their app. Then there’s also Telegram who are being forced to censor content in their app based on demands from Apple. In Telegram’s case, and I’ve also seen other cases, Apple even demands that Telegram NOT tell their users why content is being taken down, calling it ‘irrelevant’ information. And keep in mind that Apple is now requiring app developers to also include the ability to sign in with an Apple account (Apple ID). Again, you’d have to be pretty fucking stupid to use an Apple account after what we’ve seen above with Facebook and Google, and also with all the stories online of Apple blocking and banning Apple IDs.
And this is not even considering the privacy and security risks associated with these companies. All of them are working with criminal governments around the world, notably the Chinese government, to censor information or violate their users’ privacy. I’ve discussed examples of these in the past for Apple, Google and Facebook.
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