Should I use Zoom, which is often criticized recently?

What is Zoom?

Even before the outbreak, Zoom was one of the most popular video conferencing services. But then it was used mainly by business. Due to the quarantine, even more companies have joined Zoom and have switched to remote work. And after them - millions of people who are now studying or just chatting with friends from home.

What is Zoom accused of?

The company misled users about privacy

Zoom claims its product supports end-to-end encryption. It is generally believed that this technology protects data all the way from user to user. In other words, no outsider can read them. Even the developer of the service.

But an investigation by The Intercept showed that Zoom interprets "end-to-end encryption" in its own way and can still view user conferences.

At the same time, the company says it does not sell audience data and has taken measures to prevent employees from decrypting content. At the same time, Zoom does not deny that it can provide recordings of conferences at the request of the authorities.

Zoom transmitted user data to Facebook

The Zoom iOS app was caught in this at the end of March. The program sent data about the current device, city, cellular operator and time zone. They were transferred to Facebook even if the user did not have an account on the social network.

After the scandal, Zoom reported that the data was sent without her knowledge as a result of the application's integration with Facebook. The company assured that it had already fixed the problem.

Zoom is full of technical vulnerabilities

Over the past months, the media have written about Zoom vulnerabilities several times. For example, one of the bugs allowed connecting to other people's conferences. Another disclosed email addresses and photos of users to third parties. And the other day, journalists found thousands of video calls recorded in Zoom in the public domain.

Does Zoom do something about it?

Since December, the number of users of the service has increased 20 times - from 10 to 200 million per day. The developers clearly did not count on such growth and made many mistakes.

But we must give them their due: they listen to criticism and try to quickly fix bugs.

On April 1, Zoom founder Eric S. Yuan released a detailed plan to address the backlog of problems.

The company will suspend the launch of new features for 90 days and will focus on protecting privacy. Moreover, with the involvement of independent experts.

In addition, the company will begin publishing reports of requests for confidential data by authorities. Zoom will also report weekly on all updates that affect information security issues.

Should you use Zoom?

Yes, if privacy issues are not critical for you or if you believe in the company's promises. After all, Zoom can be safely called one of the best video conferencing services on the market.

Why is Zoom so good?

Conferences can be huge

The service allows you to connect up to 100 users to the conference for FREE. You can see 25 of them on the screen at the same time. For comparison: in Skype, you cannot connect more than 50 participants, in Hangouts - more than 25.

Registration is optional

When using the Zoom apps, only the meeting organizer needs an account.

Lots of free features

Chats. Users can send each other private messages or chat in group correspondence.
Demonstration of the desktop. Each participant can broadcast not only the video from the camera, but also the screen of a computer or mobile device.
Joint work with documents. By installing the Zoom application, the user can display photos or text documents for joint annotation.
Record video calls. Zoom desktop clients allow you to save video conferences as well as chat history to your computer.
Participant management. The conference organizer can remove selected participants, as well as prevent them from broadcasting video and sound.
Virtual backgrounds. If you do not want to show your interlocutors the interior of your apartment, choose any digital background instead. This can be an image of an office, stills from movies, or even memes.

The service is available on different platforms

Zoom has apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, and on a computer, it can be used in a browser without installing the client.

There are also plugins available for Chrome and Firefox users to schedule and launch conferences faster.

Zoom website →

What if the free features aren't enough for me?

The weakest point of the free version of Zoom is the limited conference time. If 40 minutes is too little for you, you can recreate it after disconnecting or buy a subscription.

The cheapest plan costs $ 15 per month. The fee is charged to the organizer. As part of this tariff, you can arrange conferences for up to 24 hours. Other benefits include 1 GB of cloud storage space, access to meeting statistics, and additional moderation features.

More expensive plans offer even more cloud space, automatic transcriptions of recordings, and the ability to connect up to 500 participants.

A detailed comparison of tariff plans is available on the Zoom website.

How do I start a conference?

To get started, register on the website or in any Zoom application. This step is mandatory for the organizer.

If you are using a browser

Click "Host a Conference" and choose the appropriate option: "With Video", "Without Video" or "Screen Sharing Only".

How to use Zoom in a browser: click "Host a meeting"

The system will offer to install the application, but you can refuse. To do this, click "click here" and then "start from browser". If the download starts automatically, please refresh the page. But remember that the application is more stable and supports document sharing.

When the conference window opens, click "Enter audio conference from computer". Now invite the participants. Click "Invite" → "Copy URL". After that, send the link to the participants via mail or any messenger.

How to invite attendees to a Zoom meeting in a browser

If you are using the desktop program Zoom

Click New Meeting and then Sign In Using Computer Sound.

To invite attendees, click “Invite” in the bottom menu and select “Copy URL”. After that, send the link to the participants via mail or any messenger.

How to invite participants to a Zoom meeting on a computer

If you are using the Zoom mobile app

Click New Conference → Start Conference.

To invite users, click Members → Invite. Then select "Copy URL" and send the link to the desired contacts via mail or any third-party messenger.

How to invite users from smartphone to Zoom

Regardless of the application chosen, the conference password will be encrypted in the invitation link, so participants do not have to enter it.

How do I schedule a conference?

You can prepare the conference in advance and add the invitation link to Google Calendar or a similar service. At the time specified by the organizer, all users connected to the calendar will receive a notification.

To schedule a meeting via the Zoom website, click on "My Account" or click on the profile icon in the upper right corner and select "Schedule Meeting".

How to schedule a Zoom meeting via a browser

If you are using a desktop or mobile application, just click Schedule from the main menu.

How to schedule a Zoom meeting via the app

Now configure the conference settings to suit you.

Many of them are obvious, but some require explanation. Let's talk about them.

"Include Lounge": When connecting, each participant will wait until the host allows them to join.

"Personal Conference ID": The system will use the unique number reserved for your profile for the conference. Knowing it and the password, users will be able to connect even without the invitation link. If you do not enable this setting, Zoom will generate a random ID.

Once you've set up your conference, click Save (or Schedule). When the system prompts you to connect the calendar, follow the prompts on the screen.

How do I join someone else's conference?

You don't need to create an account to join a conference. And if you are using a computer, you can even do without the Zoom app.

In any case, first click on the invitation link - it will open in your browser.

If Zoom is installed, the browser will prompt you to launch it. Agree - and connect to the conference automatically.

If the program is not installed, the browser will offer to download it. You can opt out of this on a computer. Click "click here" and then "start from browser". In this case, the conference will be launched directly in the browser, and you will become a participant in it.

How to join someone else's meeting in Zoom

How do I use the conference features?

To change the videophone, click on the gear on the main screen of the desktop program Zoom and click on "Virtual Background". In this menu, you can select already uploaded images or add new backgrounds.
To open a chat, tap "Chat" or "Participants" → "Chat" if the desired button is not on the main screen.
To share a document or screen with other people, tap Share, Screen Sharing, or Share Screen - the button names vary from platform to platform. Then select the desired file or click "Screen".
To get the host's attention, click Details and select Raise Hand.
To record a video conference, click Record and follow the prompts in the application. This feature is only available in Zoom desktop apps.