In product updates to Zoom privacy settings launched April 19 and May 24, we introduced a series of in-product data privacy notifications to make it easier to understand who can see, save, and share your content on Zoom. These feature-specific notices are designed to help you make informed decisions about how you use Zoom and provide more robust privacy settings and security within our products.
Why are you introducing in-product privacy notifications?
Over the past year, we've seen Zoom's user base expand from enterprise customers to include many individuals and small businesses. Recognizing these changes in who is using our platform, we are rolling out new in-product notifications to make it easier for our users to understand who can see, save, and share their information and content. For example, users may understand when they send a message to everyone in a meeting that other participants can see it, but we want to make sure they know that the organization hosting the meeting (the "account owner") can also see those messages if the meeting is being recorded - and can choose to share them with apps and others.These feature-specific notices are designed to help users make informed decisions about how they use Zoom without disrupting the frictionless Zoom experience our users count on.
Some of the notifications refer to an “account owner.” What does that mean? Who is the account owner?
The account owner is the organization or individual who sets up an account on Zoom and who hosts meetings or webinars on their account. Account owners typically designate people to manage their Zoom account settings (often called "administrators" or "admins"), who control the specific features available for meetings and events hosted on their account.
How do these new in-product notifications work?
When you join a meeting, there will now be feature-specific notices displayed during the session explaining who can see, save, and share your content and information. For example, if a user wants to know who can see the messages they send in Zoom's chat feature, they can go to "Who can see your messages?" to learn who can access messages they send to everyone, as well as private messages they send. Users will find similar information for other meeting features - such as transcription, polls, Q&A, meeting and webinar registrations, and recording or live-streaming.
Where will I see these notifications?
If you are using the latest version of Zoom (or any version after 5.6.3), you’ll see new privacy notifications before you share on Zoom, such as using in-meeting chat, live transcription, polls, Q&A, whiteboard, annotation, post-meeting experience surveys, and when viewing recordings. You’ll also see notifications when registering for meetings or webinars or when a meeting is being recorded or live-streamed.
For help on downloading the latest version of Zoom, please see this article.
Some of the notifications refer to an “account owner.” What does that mean? Who is the account owner?
The account owner is the organization or individual who sets up an account on Zoom and who hosts meetings or webinars on their account. Account owners typically designate people to manage their Zoom account settings (often called "administrators" or "admins"), who control the specific features available for meetings and events hosted on their account.
Can I opt out of sharing my content with the parties listed?
You can always choose not to share your content or information on Zoom, or to mute your microphone or video, or to leave a meeting entirely. Zoom is providing notices so people can make informed decisions before they choose to share. For example, in the chat function, the
notice now explains that if a user makes a chat available to everyone in the meeting, everyone in the meeting, as well as the account owner, will have the ability to see, save, and share that chat if the meeting is being recorded. It is up to the user whether to send a chat to everyone.
What does it mean for account owners and users to share data with apps? What apps?
Many organizations that have signed up for an account on Zoom have installed apps from our Zoom App Marketplace to enable additional features and tools for meetings and webinars hosted on their account. We will also be launching Zoom Apps in the near future - apps integrated directly into the Zoom experience. With Zoom Apps, any user will be able to add apps to their meeting experience or to share content and information with apps to add features and tools to their use of Zoom.
For example, an account owner might enable a third-party transcription app that provides a transcript of all meetings hosted on their account, so they can use the transcripts to facilitate their internal projects.
All major video conferencing platforms allow their account owners and users to install apps to add features and tools to their meeting experience. Zoom is taking the extra step here to help people understand how their meeting and webinar content and information can be shared with apps by accounts and other meeting participants when they use Zoom.