Meta Quest
A Quest is a computer on your child's face, with voice chat built in. Ages 10–12 need a parent-managed Meta account. Ages 13–17 get teen defaults, and supervision is optional unless it carries over from a parent-managed account. Meta's controls stop at Meta's own spaces. Last checked: Sep 30, 2026.
Minimum age we could verify: 10. Meta says the minimum age is 10, and requirements may vary by country. The parent-managed range is 10–13 in certain regions. Meta doesn't list those countries on the pages we could read.
Use Meta Family Center at familycenter.meta.com, or Family Center inside the Meta Horizon phone app.
Raising Bytes isn't affiliated with Meta, VRChat, Another Axiom, or k-ID. VRChat and Gorilla Tag have their own voice rules. Rec Room shut down on June 1, 2026. Meta Horizon and Quest may not be available in your country.
Create the account that matches your child's age
On your phone · ages 10–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Meta builds its protections around the birthday on the account. A child using a parent's adult account gets none of them. Preteens must have a parent's approval to set up an account, and supervision is already enabled. Meta's family guide says children aged 10–12 should have their own parent-managed Meta account, rather than sharing an adult account. A parent-managed account becomes a teen account at 13. You can choose together whether to continue supervision, which stays on by default. You and your child get emails and notifications starting one month before the 13th birthday. In 2024 Meta asked Quest 2 and Quest 3 users to re-enter their birthdate. Anyone who entered a wrong one has to verify age using an ID or a credit card. Meta's pages don't say how many profiles one headset can hold, or how to stop a child switching accounts on a shared headset. Supervised teens can have passcodes to restrict access to certain apps on shared headsets.
- Meta Horizon app, Menu, Family Center, Get started, Create an account for a child. Or use familycenter.meta.com and add a family member.
- For ages 10–12, create a parent-managed account. Don't hand over your adult account.
- For ages 13–17, use the teen's own account and invite them to supervision.
- Set the account up yourself. Don't share your PIN or password.
Check the defaults for that age
On your phone · ages 10–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Parent-managed accounts (10–12): the profile is private, the profile image is a gray shadow or outline, active status is hidden and you control it, Horizon Worlds voice is only contacts you approve, you approve each chat contact, worlds are rated 10+ unless you approve more, you control every app download, they can't buy Meta Credits, browser content filters are on, Horizon communities are blocked, and the account has privacy protections that prevent data use for training AI models. Teens 13–17: the profile is private, strangers' voices in Horizon Worlds are turned into quiet, friendly sounds, and the voice channel is set to people they know. Age-inappropriate apps are blocked by default. Teens can buy and manage their own Meta Horizon wallet. Browser filters are on with supervision. Adults choose public or private and can enter 18+ worlds. People in the same app or world may still see your child's presence even with active status off. Voice defaults outside Horizon Worlds aren't described on the Family Center page we read.
- Open Family Center and read the voice, contact, and app settings for this account.
- For a parent-managed account, leave contact approval on.
- Don't treat Horizon Worlds voice limits as a limit inside VRChat or another app.
Turn on supervision for a teen
On your phone · ages 13–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026
For teens who start with their own account, supervision is off until you both agree. If the account was parent-managed, supervision stays on by default at 13 until you and your teen choose to end it. One invite can cover Instagram, Meta Horizon, Facebook, Messenger, and Threads. Teens can stop supervision, but you'll be notified immediately. With supervision you can see followers, lock voice channel and personal boundary settings, block any world, and block calls, in-world voice chat, or text chat. You can approve or deny apps, see which apps they use, and block connecting the headset to a PC. You can see Meta AI topics, not conversations. Teens can only have one parent or guardian supporting their account. You can't read messages. You can see time spent and contact lists, not message content.
- In Family Center, send an invite, or accept the teen's invite.
- Lock the voice channel and personal boundary if you want those to stay put.
- If you get a notice that supervision stopped, talk about it before the headset goes back on.
Approve apps and purchases one by one
On your phone · ages 10–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Most risky social VR happens in apps, not in Meta's own spaces. For ages 10–12 you control whether your child can download or use an app or visit a world on Quest, the Meta Horizon mobile app, a browser, or another app, and you approve any purchase that needs a card, including Meta Credits. For supervised teens 13–17, apps rated above their age are blocked by default. The teen can send a request you approve or deny from your phone. You get purchase notifications and can block specific apps, including web browsers, and Link and Air Link, which let a headset run content from a PC. Teens 13+ can buy packs of Meta Credits and manage their own wallet. With supervision, you get a notification for each purchase and each redemption. Store age ratings don't cover what other players say. VRChat notes that most rating organizations do not consider online interactions or user-generated content.
- Leave new apps unapproved until you have looked at them.
- Block the browser if you don't want web games and sites on the headset.
- Block Link and Air Link if you don't want PC games you didn't approve.
Set a daily limit and scheduled breaks
On your phone · ages 10–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026
For parent-managed accounts and supervised teens, Family Center can set daily time limits for Meta Quest or worlds across all devices including phones, and scheduled breaks when they can't use the Quest or access worlds. You can see time spent over the past seven days. Meta's family page advises breaks every 30 minutes when starting out and whenever there's any discomfort.
- Family Center, time management. Set a daily limit and a break schedule.
- Agree on a break about every 30 minutes when they are new to the headset.
Cast the headset to a phone or TV
Both of you together · ages 10–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026
You can't see inside a headset. Everyone, including teens, can cast from Meta Quest to a phone or TV. With supervision, Meta says you can watch what your teens are doing from your phone or browser in real time. Casting doesn't record anything, and your child can stop it.
- Cast from the Quest quick settings to the Meta Horizon phone app or a TV.
- Make casting the rule for a new app and for anything social.
- Keep the headset in a shared room. A blank TV means casting stopped.
Show mute, block, pause, and the personal boundary
Both of you together · ages 10–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026
The personal boundary is an invisible bubble of about four feet that stops avatars coming too close. The default is on for people you don't follow back. A parent can lock a supervised teen's setting. Meta also documents mute, block, report, Pause, and Poll to remove. Third-party apps have their own versions. Show the tools in the app they actually use.
- Practice mute, block, and Pause in the headset together.
- If you supervise a teen, lock the personal boundary in Family Center.
Decide on VRChat, Gorilla Tag, and Rec Room separately
On your phone · ages 10–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Meta's voice defaults don't apply inside these apps. VRChat: anyone 13 or older can play, and children under 13 are prohibited from creating an account. It has no parent controls of its own and points parents to Meta, Steam, Google Play, and Apple app restrictions. Voice with strangers is on. Mute, block, Personal Space, and private instances exist. Age verification through Persona, with a VRChat+ subscription, is for adults. The Apple App Store listing is 13+. Gorilla Tag on Quest is 10+ with a parent-managed account, 13+ on Steam, and under 13 on PlayStation only with Sony's consent. Its k-ID dashboard lets a parent manage voice chat, custom usernames, joining groups, and user-generated content. Until a parent approves, younger players can still play with some features disabled. If voice isn't allowed, they get only monke sounds. Rec Room shut down June 1, 2026, at noon Pacific. Rec Room said you will no longer be able to log in and play. New accounts were blocked from March 30, 2026. If it is still installed, remove it. VRChat also runs on PC, Android, and iPhone. Blocking it on the Quest doesn't block it on a phone.
- For under-13s, leave VRChat unapproved.
- If you allow Gorilla Tag, set up k-ID yourself before voice chat is on.
- Remove Rec Room if it is still on the headset.
- Block VRChat on phones and PCs with Screen Time, Family Link, or Steam Family too.
How we check lists what was left off Meta Quest.
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