When I researched my earlier article, I skimmed through Zoom’s 3,855-word privacy policy. Once the information came out, Zoom, not surprisingly, stopped sending information to Facebook. Privacy Matters activist Pat Walshe called that policy “shocking.” At the time, there was no mention of Facebook in Zoom’s privacy policy. As reported in a Vice article, the iOS edition of Zoom was for some time sending personal data to Facebook - even if the user was not a Facebook subscriber. Fortunately, the article provides some tips for blocking Zoom hooligans.īut not all the service’s problems are as visible or caused by outside actors. If you search for URLs containing, you might get hundreds of vulnerable Zoom-enabling sites. This is the Internet version of crashing a party, starting fights, and painting offensive epitaphs on walls … except you’ll never know who ruined your fun.Īs noted in a CNET article, it’s horribly easy to Zoombomb a meeting. One of the more unique additions is Zoombombing - which I sincerely hope you’ll never experience. But based on the aforementioned blog, Zoom does seem to be taking its issues seriously.Īs with all major events, the current pandemic has created its own vernacular. Are these real and significant fixes? Or are they little more than the digital equivalent of slapping on some new paint? We just don’t know yet. In a Zoom blog post, the company claims to be hard at work providing a safer environment. Quoted in a Spectrum News NY1 article, New York DOE Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza stated: “The security of our students and staff is paramount, and we’ve worked with Zoom to create a tailored platform that provides the safety and functionality schools need to engage in remote learning.”
”Ī month later, the city lifted the ban after Zoom made security changes. It went on to say: “The education department received reports of issues that impact the security and privacy of the platform during the credentialing process …. In early April, New York City banned Zoom for school use - even though “thousands of teachers and students began using it for remote learning,” according to an article penned by Chalkbeat’s Alex Zimmerman. Much has been written about these problems in recent weeks, so I’ll give you a summary of what you really should know about the service - and others. Both accidentally and intentionally, the company has put your privacy at risk. Thus I ignored one of the more difficult questions about these services: To what degree are Zoom and its competitors spying on us?īecause I ultimately recommended Zoom as the easiest video-conferencing service for users of any technical skill - yes, even Uncle Fred could get it working - I’m going to focus on its failings. I wrote that article in March, just as we were getting used to the new world of stay-at-home socializing. In a previous article about Zoom and similar services ( AskWoody issue), I concentrated on video-conferencing etiquette and ease of use (or lack thereof). With good reason, people started asking, “Is Zoom safe?” And then came the reports of questionable privacy policies and online trolls crashing meetings. Problems kept popping up, often followed by official apologies. Family get-togethers, schools, charity events, remote concerts, and even television hosts now depend on the service.īut while Zoom’s stock was exploding, the programmers who built the platform seemed to be tripping over their shoelaces. My wife, a faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, uses Zoom to teach her students miles away.
Thanks to the pandemic, what was created as a business-conferencing tool has become the de facto means for ordinary people to connect to each other. Have you noticed that the start of every article about Zoom suggests that it has quickly turned into the most needed app on the planet?
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