Data privacy is the top metaverse challenge say developers

Ever since Facebook rebranded itself as Meta at the tail end of last year the metaverse has been creating a buzz in the tech world -- though not so much outside it.

Real-time engagement API specialist Agora has carried out a study that looking at how developers feel about the current state and evolution of the metaverse, which finds that data privacy is the biggest concern.

According to the survey, 33 percent of respondents believe that data privacy and security are the biggest hurdles that the metaverse has to overcome. Other top challenges that metaverse will see include ecosystem interoperability (12 percent), disinformation and hate speech (10 percent), community building (10 percent), accessible tools for developers (nine percent), monetization (eight percent), creating a currency and payments ecosystem (seven percent), identifying users (five percent) and lackluster hardware (five percent).

"For developers, the metaverse presents a great opportunity," says Tony Zhao, founder and CEO of Agora. "Their skills and expertise are more relevant and urgent than ever before. Our study's results are a snapshot of how developers feel about the metaverse, why it has become arguably the biggest trend today and what they think the future looks like. Since they will be positioned on the front lines of practically every development that takes place in the metaverse, their thoughts and opinions ultimately carry a great deal of weight."

Sectors set to benefit the most are gaming and entertainment, cited by 26 percent each, followed by telecommunications (12 percent) and retail/ecommerce (11 percent).

The matter of currency is also covered. NFTs -- something else that excites the tech world while largely leaving others cold -- are expected by 53 percent to become the biggest metaverse currency, while 57 percent of respondents think that the metaverse will become the most popular place to buy, store and trade cryptocurrency. Indeed, cryptocurrency and blockchain will be critical to shaping the future of the metaverse according to 70 percent.

Although Facebook/Meta is credited with coming up with the idea of the metaverse, only a quarter of respondents think it will still be in control in five year's time, with another quarter believing no one company will have full control.

You can find out more on the Agora blog.

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