Security News > 2020 > March > Zoom Updates Privacy Policy After Experts Raise Concerns
Earlier this month, articles on Mashable, EFF, Forbes, and Consumer Reports, among others, heavily criticized Zoom for not ensuring that users' privacy is well protected, which encouraged web veteran Doc Searls to have a look into the matter as well.
EFF too pointed out that Zoom hosts could monitor attendees' activity while screen-sharing, could see whether a participant has the Zoom window in focus or not, and that administrators can view "How, when, and where users are using Zoom," and can access the contents of recorded calls, including "Video, audio, transcript, and chat files."
"A person whose personal data is being shed on Zoom doesn't know that's happening because Zoom doesn't tell them. There's no red light, like the one you see when a session is being recorded. [] in the Zoom app, you can't tell if or how your personal data is being harvested," Searls noted on March 24.
"The Zoom services do not contain advertising cookies. No data regarding user activity on the Zoom platform - including video, audio and chat content - is ever used for advertising purposes. If you do not want to receive targeted ads about Zoom, simply click the"Cookie Preferences" link at the bottom of any page on the zoom.
Bawa also notes that the company does not sell users' personal data, that it does not monitor meetings, that it records meetings only when asked by hosts, that it collects only data required to provide Zoom services, and that it is focused on protecting the privacy of K-12 users.