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Facebook accidentally concealed bizarre and "inappropriate" messages in "tens of thousands" of virtual reality (VR) controllers, including "Big Brother Looks" and "Masons were there."
Nate Mitchell, co-founder of the virtual reality company Oculus, owned by Facebook, wrote on Twitter Friday that the company inadvertently printed unusual messages in its touch controllers, portable devices to play games and navigate inside virtual reality.
These messages were intended only for prototypes, he said, but an error meant that they were included in the usual production devices. Some messages have been included in development kits for software developers for the product, while different messages have been introduced into consumer devices in a much larger number.
None of the internal messages should have appeared on the devices, but a Facebook spokesman told Business Insider that the company would not issue a reminder.
"Unfortunately, some Easter egg-shaped labels meant for prototypes were accidentally inserted into the internal hardware of tens of thousands of touch controllers," wrote the technical manager.
"The messages on the final production material indicate" This space for rent "and" The masons were there. "Some development kits come with" Big Brother is Watching "and" Hi iFixit! We See You! "But these were limited to non-consumer units."
(iFixit is a technology repair company known to have publicly deconstructed new gadgets and posted photos of their bowels online.)
Mitchell added, "Although I appreciate the Easter eggs, these were inappropriate and should have been removed.The integrity and functionality of the material have not been compromised, and we have corrected our process so that it does not happen again. "
Facebook spokeswoman Joanna Peace told Business Insider that even though none of the affected consumer devices had yet been shipped, will in the end go to consumers with the messages hidden inside.
"To be clear, no devices have yet been sold with these messages, since Quest and Rift S have not yet been delivered." That said, as mentioned in Nate's tweet, the messages will be sent to tens of thousands of controller pairs that will be shipped to consumers when Quest and Rift S are shipped, "Peace writes in an email.
"We believe that it is important to be transparent with our community and to assume our responsibilities in case of mistakes," she said.
Messages are printed on the "flex," says Peace, "a flexible internal component of touch controllers."
While most touch controller users will never see hidden messages, it's an embarrassing faux pas for Facebook, which faces sustained criticism over privacy issues for more than a decade.
This comes as Facebook attempts to propel virtual reality into the mainstream and is also preparing to launch its much anticipated Oculus Quest, an all-in-one virtual reality headset, in the coming months.
Facebook is also quietly developing Augmented Reality (AR) technology, and Business Insider had previously announced that the company had restructured its AR glasses business at the end of last year as it prepared to launch a commercial product.
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