Meta’s new patents show how it plans to make money off you in the metaverse

On the surface, Meta’s bold plans for developing the metaverse seem like an innovative new idea with the potential to change the way we view technology.

Underneath all of that, the metaverse is probably just the latest cash grab attempt from the company formerly known as Facebook. A slew of new patents filed by Meta show just how the company plans on monetizing its VR efforts in the metaverse.

The Financial Times has taken a deep dive into recent patent filings from the company, and, boy, has Meta been busy. The list of patents includes, of course, several potential ways that the company will establish its VR universe.

READ MORE: Instagram and Facebook creators are getting new monetization tools

There’s one patent that details a method for tracking your facial expressions. Another would be used to create a 3D avatar based on a picture.

But maybe the most interesting revelations that the publication found were the potential examples of how the company will make money in the metaverse.

READ MORE: Epic Games is pumping $2 billion into the metaverse

And you can probably guess the theme. Meta plans to harvest even more of your data to deliver ads in a virtual world.

Meta’s data harvesting will ramp up in the metaverse

As Facebook and its sister companies have done for years, Meta’s current plans for monetizing the metaverse rely heavily on user data.

One of the company’s more recent patents filed on January 4 outlines a method of personalized advertising. The method would utilize users’ age, gender, and other harvested data to deliver relevant advertisements inside the metaverse, similar to the way things are done on social platforms already.

Another talks about how companies will be able to sponsor objects inside of a metaverse world. Companies will essentially be able to bid for product placement in the metaverse, and Meta will then use the data it collects from users to place those products in relevant scenarios.

It shouldn’t really come as much surprise that Meta plans on continuing the same monetization model that it has developed over the years in order to make money in the metaverse. It is interesting, however, to get some brief insight into what the metaverse could potentially look like.

I’m envisioning a platform filled with ads where users can’t escape the constant onslaught of targeted marketing trying to get them to spend more money. It’s what Facebook has essentially become, aside from the pile of misinformation and scandals. It’s worked for years at this point, so why would Meta change strategies with its latest endeavors?

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