Meta Quest headsets get WhatsApp, the necessary step forward for Meta

Meta Quest VR headset owners will now have the ability to chat to WhatsApp contacts using their Meta Quest VR headsets.

In an update, Meta has confirmed that users will now be able to download WhatsApp in Virtual Reality from the Meta Quest Store on their Quest 2, Quest Pro, and Quest 3 headsets.

The update will mean that users will be able to send messages, reply to messages, and make calls just as you would on a normal cell device.

That’s not all.

Users will also be able to view and respond to chats using their voice or texts, respond to contact status updates, make, or decline voice calls, block and report chats and users and even use WhatsApp’s disappearing messages feature.

Meta Quest users will also be able to play back voice notes, use stickers and GIFs, view images, send polls, mute chats, and even send polls to users.

The list is expected to grow with more updates in the coming months, yet this marks a crucial step for the Meta Quest series and hopefully will broaden its reach in the market.

The shift to add WhatsApp, one of the biggest messaging tools globally may be a pivotal move forward for the Quest series considering its delayed growth globally.

Users can link their phones to their VR headsets by: 

• Download WhatsApp from the Meta Quest Store
• Open WhatsApp and select a language.
• Enter your phone number.
• You’ll see a prompt to link your phone with an eight-character code.

Open WhatsApp on your phone.

• Tap Settings on iPhone or More Options on Android > Linked devices.
• Tap Link a device, then tap Link with phone number instead.
• Enter the eight-character code shown on WhatsApp on your headset.
• When WhatsApp on your phone and headset are linked, your account will load on WhatsApp in VR.

Your calls and messages remain end-to-end encrypted while using WhatsApp in VR.

Also read: Tech60 seconds: ALX addresses unemployment differently in Africa