"Metaverse Poses Serious Privacy Risks for Users, Report Warns"

According to a new report from New York University (NYU), the immersive Internet experience known as the metaverse will erode users' privacy unless significant measures are taken to improve and regulate how the technology collects and stores personal data. The metaverse relies on Extended Reality (XR) technologies, encompassing Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR). The report from NYU's Stern Center for Business and Human Rights warns that because the technology cannot function without collecting and processing personal and bodily data, it poses a significant privacy risk. According to the report, behavioral and psychological information about individuals can be deduced from bodily data alone. Conventional XR hardware includes sensors that continuously track at least three categories of user data: head movements, eye movements, and spatial maps of physical surroundings. The report argues that when compiled over time, these types of data can disclose "highly sensitive information" about users, such as their physical and mental health, which can be used for commercial or political gain. This article continues to discuss privacy threats posed by metaverse technology.

The Record reports "Metaverse Poses Serious Privacy Risks for Users, Report Warns"