PICO (owned by ByteDance) can and does ban devices. Once your headset’s serial number is flagged for piracy:

PC gamers are used to cracking Denuvo. VR gamers on SteamVR are used to downloading repacks.

Despite the challenges, several efforts are underway to combat Pico 4 piracy. Pico, the manufacturer of the Pico 4 headset, has implemented various anti-piracy measures, including encryption, digital rights management (DRM), and online activation.

While piracy might seem like a shortcut to a larger library, it comes with significant technical and security drawbacks.

PICO has less aggressive anti-piracy than Meta, but that’s changing. Recent OS updates have introduced stronger integrity checks.

Security researchers have identified that some Pico 4 piracy Telegram channels distribute apps with overlay malware. Because VR requires accessibility permissions, these apps can log your controller inputs—capturing credit card details when you finally do buy something legitimately from the store.