How to Watch Porn in Virtual Reality
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A friend of mine used to say that the first question we ask when we’re introduced to a new piece of technology is, “How can I use this to have sex?” To that end, here’s how to use a Meta Quest 2, Quest 3, Quest 3S, Apple Vision Pro, PSVR, Vive, or other VR headset to have sex…or watch virtual porn, anyway.
(If you’re wondering what else you can do with your Quest 3 or 3S, here’s a guide to the must-have apps for both.)
It’s almost comically easy to have an “entry-level” VR porn experience in virtual reality with any headset that isn’t manufactured by Apple. (More on that below.)
Entry level porn VR porn viewing, step-by-step
Lock the door.
Put on your headset.
Click on your web-browser-of-choice
Navigate to a site that hosts VR porn. Free video megasites like Youporn have a VR section, or just use Google to search something out. Clicking on a video should launch you into VR—but “should” is doing a lot of work. These are random files hosted on janky free porn sites, so don’t be surprised if you need to do a little trial-and-error to find one that works right.
That’s all you need to know to get a taste of the VR porn thing, but because of the massive file sizes of VR video, streaming is likely to be choppy, and free movies are usually not in the highest resolution—again, janky but free. To get a better experience, you’re going to have to (gasp) pay to watch it.
Suggested headsets for VR porn-viewing:
The above instructions for streaming “regular” VR porn work on Meta Quest 3 and 3S headsets, but the “3 series” has front-facing pass-through camera arrays that add a new wrinkle to “adult content”: augmented reality.
Getting your pass-through-porn on can be fairly complicated, so here’s a separate post that goes into detail about how to get augmented reality porn to work on your Meta Quest 3 and 3S.
How to watch Porn with an Apple Vision Pro
Apple’s Vision Pro can stream, download, and play “normal” videos (both adult and “mainstream”) on gigantic virtual reality screens easily through its web browser, but immersive, 3D videos produced specifically for virtual or augmented reality will not work on your Apple Vision Pro’s browser.
Part of the issue is that WebXR, the programming interface for accessing augmented reality and virtual reality devices, is not automatically enabled in the Vision Pro’s browser. Not having WebXR enabled means no VR porn, but it also means you won’t have access to a slew of non-adult VR and AR content like web-based games, tours, productivity apps, etc.
Here’s how to turn WebXR on:
Open Settings.
Select Apps.
Select Safari.
Scroll to the bottom of the window and select Advanced.
Scroll to the bottom of the window and select Feature Flags.
Under Experimental XR Features, enable WebXR Device API and WebXR Hand Input Module.
Under WebKit Feature Flags, enable WebXR Augmented Reality Module and WebXR GamePads Module.
Exit Settings.
Open Safari, or if it’s already open, refresh a WebXR-enabled page to check it is working.
But even with WebXR enabled, you still can’t launch full VR porn videos on an Apple Vision Pro—yet. I spoke to Alex Novac, of VR Porn site SexLikeReal, and he said, “a lot has been done on our end to make things work with AVP. It’s a great tool for videos. Will be making a huge update soon.”
Advanced VR porn viewing
Pick a VR website. Because VR porn is relatively new, more costly to produce, and has a smaller audience than “normal” adult videos, there aren’t an overwhelming number of sites dedicated to it. Most of them have sample videos to view, and some provide single-day access for very cheap so you can see if you dig it. Check out this list of the most well-known producers, and make a choice.
Did you lock the door?
Open the browser, navigate to your newly chosen site and enter your credit card digits. Membership fees vary from site to site, but expect a range of $20 to $30 a month.
From here, you can stream full-length videos at very high quality, but the streaming might still be choppy. If so…
Download and save video to your device— These videos can be over 10 gigs, so it might take a little bit.
Play the video—Major VR headsets come with great video browsers, but if you want advanced features, download Skybox for 10 bucks. That way you can save video to your PC and stream from your computer easily.
Get the right player: Some adult VR sites are configured to work best with specific browsers or video players, and you should be directed as to what to install.
If you want to get really advanced, you can delve into the world of (link is NSFW) virtual reality sex toys. These are devices designed to vibrate and oscillated in sync with videos. I have no idea how well these work and I’m not super anxious to find out.
Is virtual reality porn any good?
Now that you know how to view porn in virtual reality, you have to ask yourself if you should. Virtual reality’s “you are there” immersion provides an experience that is markedly different from traditional porn, but it’s not necessarily better. Like all things of this nature, it comes down to personal taste. I checked out a little bit of the stuff (for research purposes only, of course), and, without going into too much detail, here are the pros and cons:
Locked-in perspective: The idea of putting the viewer right up in the action means the camera is locked to your perspective. If you like that kind of thing, it’s gravy for you, but if you don’t … well, you gave it a shot.
The performance: The camera/you feel very close to the performers in VR porn videos and the illusion is fairly convincing, but actually selling that kind of intimacy requires acting talent. It’s a different kind of performing than film or stage altogether, and, at the risk of being negative, many pornographic performers don’t have the chops to really pull it off, so it can just feel weird, and not sexy-weird. Again, your mileage may vary.
Limited content: Because it is more expensive and more difficult to shoot VR video, and there is a smaller audience, it seems like almost all VR porn is geared toward a mainstream porn audience. If you share the tastes of the majority of porn viewers, you’ll be happy. If you’re into something more esoteric, you might find it difficult or impossible to find what you like, at least until more pervs join the virtual world.
Gender-bending: Most virtual reality porn is designed for heterosexual men, but not all of it. There is VR porn from the point of view of queer people, which provides maybe the most unique possibility of VR porn: putting yourself in the skin of someone else. Looking down at yourself and seeing a different body (one that doesn’t skip ab day) is strange enough, but looking down and seeing a differently gendered body is positively freaky in the best possible way. I can only assume this will lead to a new age of empathy and the end of sexism and homophobia.
For couples? Realistically, most porn is going to be consumed solo, but some couples are strapping on headsets (and maybe other devices) and incorporating the virtual into their shared real sex lives. I think a real experience while wearing a headset would be a little ridiculous, but maybe I’m just old-fashioned.
