VR and the metaverse

What it is

A VR headset is not only a game console held up to the eyes. Apps such as Meta Horizon Worlds, VRChat, Rec Room, and other metaverse spaces put a child in a shared room with other people, many of them adults, talking out loud. The headset makes that room private. You cannot glance across and read the chat the way you can with a phone on the table.

Parents report uncomfortable approaches in these spaces. Someone follows their avatar. Someone will not leave them alone. Someone asks to keep talking on Discord, Snapchat, or WhatsApp. The pattern is the same as a random video chat, with a body and a voice attached. Age ratings exist. Shared rooms still mix ages, and a child can say they are older than they are.

A single-player game on a headset, played offline, is a smaller question. This briefing is about the worlds where a stranger can walk up and talk.

What to look out for

• A headset used alone behind a shut door, especially late.
• New friends they have never met, or a request to move the chat onto another app.
• They take the headset off as soon as you come in, or they will not show you the world.
• Spending you did not agree to, or gifts inside the app.
• An account age that does not match their real age.
• Someone who followed them, blocked their way, or would not take no.

Ways to stay safe

These steps are for VR and the metaverse. The house rules still apply on every app.

• The first sessions happen where you can hear the voice chat, not in a closed bedroom.
• Use the product's age and account tools, and keep the store password.
• For younger children, public rooms and stranger voice stay off. For older ones, agree which worlds are allowed before the headset goes on.
• Nobody they meet in a headset gets their real name, school, photos, or a plan to meet.
• If someone will not leave them alone, they leave the room and tell you. Leaving is the right move.
• If an adult has been sexual, has asked for photos, or has tried to meet, use the help page. Do not message that person.

In the news

Published reports you can read yourself. A headline is the proof, not a set of instructions, and this page does not repeat graphic detail.

• Ofcom looks at limits on gifts and recording a child’s livestream BBC News · 2025 Ofcom’s proposals cover livestreams and gifts sent to a child. A headset world is a live space with strangers. This report does not name VRChat.

A way to start the conversation

You can say: "In there, a stranger can stand next to you and talk. I want to know which worlds you go to, and I want you to leave if someone will not take no. Telling me is the right move."

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