While Zoom has had a whirlwind of a time trying to save their reputation with privacy and security, they still have an untrustworthy reputation, in our opinion. However, they’re still one of the most popular ways people are getting in touch with during the current pandemic.
The video-conferencing platform has tried to made several improvements to their overall security, like launching a security advisory council featuring an ex-Facebook chief security officer. In a new attempt, Zoom is now asking users to make sure their Zoom applications—either on smartphones or desktops—are updated to the latest version before 30th May.
“Zoom Rooms now have greater security and privacy host controls. We urge Zoom Rooms admins to update their rooms for these enhanced features, but just as importantly, to meet the minimum requirements of version 5.0 or greater for GCM encryption,” wrote Zoom in their blog.
Zoom 5.0
Zoom 5.0 was an important release for the video chatting platform and was introduced in April. It includes stronger encryption standards to ensure the content you share on Zoom cannot be intercepted by people outside your meeting. It also intends to protect users against things like Zoombombing.
You’ll be able to do things like report a user, and hosts can turn on the ‘Waiting Rooms’ feature while their meeting is already in progress. You can also now lock rooms, and remove participants from meetings. There are plenty of additional meeting safeguards that you can check out here.
Here’s how to update Zoom to Zoom 5.0:
Mobile app
- Download the app if you haven’t already (iOS, Android)
- Zoom will display a mobile notification whenever there is a new update.
Desktop
- Zoom provides a pop-up notification when there is a new mandatory or optional update within 24 hours of logging in
- If you want to manually download the new update, you can click here first if you haven’t downloaded the app yet
- Sign in to Zoom desktop client
- Click your profile picture then click ‘Check for Updates’
- If there is a newer version, Zoom will download and install it
If you choose to postpone your optional update, you will only be prompted to update the next time you login. However, those who fail to get the latest version of Zoom will not be able to join any meetings after May 30.
There are also other options for video-conferencing platforms like Google Meet and even Facebook Messenger Rooms. You can click here to check on which video call apps are safe to use, and which of them aren’t.
