Privacy in the Metaverse:

Discussions on the “Metaverse” today more often than not home is on the question of when this vision is going to become a reality—rather than questioning whether this will ever happen. In addition, there is agreement among experts that head-mounted mixed reality (XR) displays will become the main pervasive technology enabling participation in the metaverse. The recent excitement about the metaverse primarily stems from its economic potential, and it is evident that, like in the Internet, user data will be a core currency. We take the stance that it is essential to start thinking about how users’ data can be protected in the metaverse. To this end, we reflect on how the metaverse future might look if we do not take action, drawing parallels to the development of the Internet. We then briefly point toward ongoing activities before outlining research challenges to be addressed to make privacy protection one of the primary design goals for devices, services, and apps in the metaverse. Finally, we sketch a privacy-focused research roadmap.