Essentials

Authentication

Updated: Apr 6, 2026
Every Meta Quest user has a Meta account. Your app can use this account to identify users, access platform features like leaderboards and achievements, and enable social features like friends lists and multiplayer. Authentication on Horizon OS is built on OAuth 2.0, so the patterns are familiar if you’ve integrated with other identity providers.

How authentication works

When your app requests user identity, Horizon OS handles the authentication flow through the platform. The user doesn’t need to enter credentials inside your app — they’re already signed into their Meta account on the headset. Your app receives a token that identifies the user and grants access to the platform features you’ve requested.

Key capabilities

  • User identity — Get a unique, stable user ID for your app without requiring a separate login
  • Access tokens — OAuth 2.0 tokens for calling Meta Platform APIs
  • Account linking — Connect Meta accounts to your own backend identity system
  • Federated authentication — Let users sign into third-party services through Meta’s authentication flow
  • Permissions — Request specific data access (friends list, avatar, user profile) with user consent
  • Entitlement checks — Verify that the user owns your app before granting access to content

Common patterns

Entitlement verification

Every app distributed on the Meta Horizon Store should verify that the user has a valid entitlement (purchase or free-to-download claim) before granting access. This prevents unauthorized copies from running.

Account linking

If your app has its own user account system — for cross-platform progression, a web dashboard, or an existing player base — you can link Meta accounts to your backend accounts. The user authenticates once, and your app maps their Meta ID to your internal user ID.

Friends and social

With the user’s consent, you can access their Meta friends list to enable social features: invite friends to multiplayer sessions, show who’s online, or build a social feed. Friends data is scoped to users who also have your app installed.

Privacy and data use

Authentication gives your app access to user data, which comes with responsibilities:
  • Request only what you need — Don’t request friends list access if your app doesn’t have social features
  • Complete the Data Use Checkup (DUC) — Required before your app can access platform APIs in production
  • Respect user choices — Handle declined permissions gracefully with fallback behavior
  • Follow Meta’s Platform Policy — Governs how you store, use, and share user data

Build path implementation guides

Each build path provides its own SDK and API for implementing authentication:

Design guidelines

For best practices on designing authentication, privacy, and user trust:

User considerations

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Virtual reality / Meta Horizon
Virtual reality / Meta Horizon
Virtual reality / Meta Horizon
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