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[Eddie-Griffin]

https://mixed-news.com/en/meta-catches-quest-3-whistleblower/

VR enthusiast, industry expert, and hardware analyst Bradley Lynch has been following the industry for years and has more than 115,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel alone.

Last summer, Lynch leaked technical drawings of the Meta Quest Pro and Quest Touch Pro controllers, which turned out to be largely accurate after their official unveiling and launch. This was followed by blueprints of a presumed Quest 3 prototype in the fall – a year before the device could be released.

It’s not uncommon for technical details of upcoming VR headsets to be leaked ahead of time. Lynch’s leaks, however, had a different dimension: they revealed precise details about the design and technical features of the Quest Pro, and possibly the Quest 3, well in advance of their launch.

Meta reveals informants​

That seems to be over for now. After a “month-long investigation,” Meta has revealed the source behind the leaked blueprints, writes The Verge editor Alex Heath in the latest issue of his Command Line newsletter.

Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth allegedly broke the news to Meta employees in an internal email, writes Heath, who himself has a long history of Meta leaks. Meta has severed ties with the whistleblower, who Heath says was a third-party contractor.

The person allegedly demanded a cut of the advertising revenue from Lynch’s YouTube videos. Lynch would neither confirm nor deny this to Heath.

“They might have asked because I wasn’t willing to give much money up front,” Lynch says. “I’m just one guy who loves VR and just enjoys talking with industry friends and reporting what I hear. And I’m definitely not getting rich from it.”

Statement from Brad Lynch​

The story is now likely to spark a debate about the benefits and harms of leaks for the industry and consumers. Here’s a statement Brad Lynch sent us when asked:

This is normal in this line of work. People who leak stuff to any journalist or analyst is risking something. My job is mostly to protect them if they want to give a tip. Which I what have done even in this case scenario. Unfortunately it’s hard when you’re facing a multi-billion dollar company like Meta (who has a way-worse leaking problem than just what I have popularized).
I know people are wanting to use a leaked memo to take an opportunity to discuss why a different leak is bad, but it’s probably not gonna deter me from doing this sort of work. It’s pretty powerful for consumers and low-resourced competitors to have info on how to compete with a company who has consistently done anti-competitive practices. As for these large companies: they devote a ton of internal resources finding out what their competitors are doing too. But since I am decentralized and on a public platform, it’s more dangerous to them. Because the little guys now know too.
Brad Lynch

I have also reached out to Meta for comment and will update this article if I receive a response.

The person that's been leaking info about various Quest headsets over the years, including the recent Quest 3 has been found, assumingly alive.

Now that the leaks have been plugged, and Zucker can now work in secret, he can finally add that Titan graphics processor into the Quest 3 to surprise the masses.

Right?




But seriously, it a contractor that isn't even a trusted employee was able to cause this much trouble this long, Facebook and Zuckerberg have some serious internal vulnerabilities to address.

 

[feynoob]

Seriously, no likes leakers. They ruin the fun of surprises.

 

[Zannegan]

Seriously, no likes leakers. They ruin the fun of surprises.

Hard disagree. I love leakers.

Their existence make the fakes seem more legitimate and opens wide the doors of speculation into realms unreached (and often unreachable) by reality. Without legit leakers, we would never have had the glorious madness of the Hassan/Blue Box thread.

Plus, there's nothing like being afraid to hope in a "too good to be true" rumor only to have it happen.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Severed they said....

 

[DeepEnigma]

Severed they said....

 

[feynoob]

Hard disagree. I love leakers.

Their existence make the fakes seem more legitimate and opens wide the doors of speculation into realms unreached (and often unreachable) by reality. Without legit leakers, we would never have had the glorious madness of the Hassan/Blue Box thread.

Plus, there's nothing like being afraid to hope in a "too good to be true" rumor only to have it happen.

From outsiders prespective, its a good thing for them.
But if you work for a company, and your hard work gets leaked, you wont like it all.

 

[Baki]

Imagine ruining your career and not even getting the ad revenue.

 

[ButtSax]

I'm so behind what leaks?

 

[jigglet]

"My job is mostly to protect them if they want to give a tip."

lmfao, this guy is acting like this guy leaking video game / commercial secrets is worthy of the same protections as a genuine whistleblower who is trying to bring some truly horrific shit to light. Wow.

It's like when you watch kids play acting, one puts on a hat and says I'm a cop! the other picks up a notepad and says I'm a journalist!

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Hero or villain?

 

[AJUMP23]

Quick way to ruin your career and credibility.

 

[Lasha]

Whistleblower laws don't protect those leaking specs of products in development. The use of the term is utterly inappropriate in this context.

 

[IFireflyl]

I'm so behind what leaks?

Someone was going on a Quest. I think they mentioned the multiverse. You get it.