18 tips to secure your Zoom chats and why do it anyway

Abeerah Hashim Last updated: December 21, 2022 Read time: 15 minutes Disclosure

Wondering how to ensure Zoom security for your business and other communications? Check out these tips to secure your Zoom chats and meetings without hassle.

Sneak peek at Zoom security

Zoom is the most reliable app for video conferences and online meetings across the globe. It is a preferred platform for secure business communications. However, due to its popularity and user-friendly features, Zoom is now a potential target of hackers and spies seeking ways to intercept chats between users. Therefore, adequate measures, such as two-factor authentication, strong passwords, and random meeting IDs are crucial to secure Zoom chats today. This guide elaborates some tweaks and tips to upscale Zoom security during virtual meetings.

Zoom is an exciting communication platform helping businesses and individuals ensure smooth communications for many years.

While the app has existed since 2011, it gained traction recently as it helped people communicate via online meetings. Yet, this facility also drew the attention of the criminals who tried every possible trick to barge into users’ private meetings.

Thus, today, you inevitably need to secure your Zoom Chats if you really want to protect your online business communications.

This guide will teach you how to adjust your Zoom settings for secure communications. Plus, you will also get to know other Zoom security tips to maintain your privacy during meetings.

Essential Zoom security tips – the quick list

  1. Never use personal emails to create Zoom accounts
  2. Secure your account with 2FA
  3. Secure your Zoom Meetings with passwords
  4. Set up random Meeting IDs
  5. Share Zoom Meeting links carefully
  6. Apply strict authenticated access to Meetings
  7. Be careful about screen-sharing
  8. Enable ‘Waiting Room’ for Zoom Meetings
  9. Disable file sharing
  10. Disable the “Join before host” feature
  11. Disable “Allow removed participants to rejoin”
  12. Restrict session recording
  13. Disable Attention Tracking
  14. Prefer Zoom web app instead of client apps
  15. Never post about Zoom Meeting details on social media
  16. Be wary of fake Zoom apps
  17. Use the latest zoom app version
  18. Take care of personal privacy

Is Zoom Safe?

After Coronavirus hit the world in 2020, Zoom saw a steady increase in users, reaching an all-time high of 2 million in just 3 months. However, despite its remarkable success, the company has had various privacy and security concerns. 

Here are some security and privacy issues associated with Zoom. 

  1. Despite Zoom’s assertion that it uses AES 256 encryption, end-to-end encryption is only available optionally for Zoom meetings. Also, activating E2E in Meetings limits some features.
  2. Due to the way Zoom handles personal information, there have been cases of thousands of email addresses being exposed through the Zoom app. Using the same domain when registering for the service adds the home address to Zoom’s directory, making it possible for anyone with the same domain to call anyone on the list. 
    Users that register with a non-standard email domain are affected by the problem (This excludes Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.).
  3. Using pre-installation scripts, the Zoom macOS program installs using a malware-prone method. If the macOS user is not a system administrator, the software creates an admin login and password prompt to access the root directory, granting Zoom complete control over your device.
  4. According to allegations, Zoom gave users information to several businesses, including Facebook. Zoom iOS app transmitted alerts such as user device, service provider, and profile to Facebook. However, the company corrected this glitch after a user presented a case in a federal court in California. 
  5. Trolls can enter a Zoom conference and publish explicit content if the user hasn’t created a strong enough (or any!) password to keep it secure. This type of assault is known as “Zoombombing.”

Security and privacy issues are the tip of the iceberg. However, there are ways that you can secure your Zoom chats.

Tips to secure your Zoom Chats

Zoom security tips
(123RF)

Now that you are reading this section, it means you are aware of the Zoom security issues. And that you’re keen to find ways to get rid of them all.

Does it require any specific tips to protect Zoom Meetings? We hear you ask!

Well, it doesn’t demand any technical skills from you. Nor does it need any particular efforts regarding configuration things.

All it takes is a vigilant focus on some basic privacy practices, regardless of whether your Zoom Meetings include sensitive discussions or not.

So, let’s get started with the common Zoom security tips to protect your chats.

1. Never use personal emails to create Zoom accounts

Since Zoom is meant to serve workgroups, it essentially facilitates networking, which may sometimes become awkward. One such unwanted feature is the disclosure of users’ email addresses to others.