Security News > 2020 > June > Zoom Will Offer End-to-End Encryption to Free Users
Zoom announced on Wednesday that it has decided to offer end-to-end encryption to free users after all, as long as they verify their account by providing an additional piece of information, such as a phone number.
Zoom said earlier this month that only paying customers and schools would benefit from its upcoming end-to-end encryption feature, arguing that free users are more likely to commit abuse and the company wants to be able to assist law enforcement investigations.
Following the announcement, Mozilla, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and many others called on Zoom to reverse its decision and offer end-to-end encryption to everyone.
Zoom said on Wednesday that based on the feedback it received it has found a way to offer end-to-end encryption to all users as an advanced add-on feature - end-to-end encryption will be opt-in as it's incompatible with some meeting features - while still being able to prevent and fight abuse.
Zoom recently published a draft of its end-to-end encryption design and it has asked users, government representatives, encryption experts, child safety advocates, civil liberties organizations and its CISO council for feedback.