Meta Launches New Features Allowing Users to Personalise Avatars and Retract Image Messages on Quest Devices

Meta has released a new software update for its Quest headset – v57 (version 57), which includes various features such as more avatar editing options, unsent picture messages, group links, free movement in Horizon Home and new branding. Explore the feed.

The technology giant has also made improvements to video recording, multitasking and more.

“These features and enhancements will be available the week of September 11, 2023, and will be ported to the Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 2 headsets,” Meta said in a blog post on Monday.

With the avatar editing feature, users can now customize their avatar’s hair, eyebrows, skin tone and more using a real-time avatar editor mirror available in select home environments.

Additionally, users can now unsend picture messages in VR and the Meta Quest mobile app by hovering over or tapping on the message and selecting Unsend.

The feature will be rolled out in select countries, including Australia, Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States.

Among the minor updates, Meta has released group links, so users can invite friends to a group by simply sharing a link, creating it in VR, or connecting it to social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook.

A new feature is also coming to Horizon Home, where people can visit each other’s virtual homes.

According to Meta, users can now freely teleport inside the home in addition to being able to teleport in VR apps, allowing them to “explore every corner of their home environment.”

Enable free-form movement by pressing the joystick forward on either controller.

An arc will appear showing where users are currently aiming. Other minor changes include the ability to run multiple apps at the same time and switch between views, and a new default setting that allows users to mute the microphone when recording video.

In addition, Meta removed the streaming feature from its iPhone Quest mobile app, which allows users to simultaneously record their VR experience and their real-life experience with the phone’s camera.