The private chat feature allows participants to send private messages to other participants while in a meeting. Private messages between participants are not viewable by the host. Disabling private chat prevents participants from privately messaging other participants, but still allows participants and the host to send private messages to each other. Hosts can also disable chat for everyone in the meeting.

Notes:

• Account owners and admins can disable private chat for all users in the account or for specific groups in the account.
• Webinar attendees can't privately message other attendees. They can only send messages to all panelists (including the host) or to all panelists and attendees publicly.

This article covers:

• How to enable or disable direct messages for all meetings
  • Account
  • Group
  • User
• How to control private chat access during a meeting

Prerequisites for enabling or disabling private chats

• Host privileges in meeting
• Zoom desktop client for Windows or macOS, version 4.x for host and participants to control chat access
• Zoom mobile app for iOS or Android, version 4.x for host and participants to control chat access

How to enable or disable direct messages for all meetings

If the Meeting chat feature is disabled, direct messages are also disabled. You must enable Meeting chat to also enable direct messages.

Account

To enable or disable Meeting chat - Direct messages for all users in the account:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an admin with the privilege to edit account settings.
2. In the navigation panel, click Account Management, then Account Settings.
3. Click the Meeting tab.
4. Under In Meeting (Basic), click the Meeting chat and Meeting chat - Direct messages toggles to enable or disable them.
5. If a verification dialog appears, click Enable or Disable to verify the change.
6. (Optional) To prevent all users on the account from changing this setting, click the lock icon , and then click Lock to confirm the setting.

Group

To enable or disable Meeting chat - Direct messages for a group of users:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an admin with the privilege to edit groups.
2. In the navigation panel, click User Management then Groups.
3. Click the applicable group name from the list.
4. Click the Meeting tab.
5. Under In Meeting (Basic), click the Meeting chat and Meeting chat - Direct messages toggles to enable or disable them.
6. If a verification dialog appears, click Enable or Disable to verify the change.
   Note: If the options are grayed out, they have been locked at the account level and need to be changed at that level.
7. (Optional) To prevent all users in the group from changing this setting, click the lock icon , and then click Lock to confirm the setting.

User

To enable or disable Meeting chat - Direct messages for your own use:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Settings.
3. Click the Meeting tab.
4. Under In Meeting (Basic), click the Meeting chat and Meeting chat - Direct messages toggles to enable or disable them.
5. If a verification dialog appears, click Enable or Disable to verify the change.
   Note: If the options are grayed out, they have been locked at either the group or account level. You need to contact your Zoom admin.

How to control private chat access during a meeting

Meeting hosts can control who participants are allowed to chat with during a meeting. Learn more about how to control chat access during a meeting.