Reposted from Zoom. See the source article here.
At Zoom, ensuring the privacy and security of our users and their data is our top priority. We want to address recent concerns about Zoom’s privacy policy.
We want to emphasize that:
- Zoom does not sell our users’ data.
- Zoom has never sold user data in the past and has no intention of selling users’ data going forward.
- Zoom does not monitor your meetings or its contents.
- Zoom complies with all applicable privacy laws, rules, and regulations in the jurisdictions within which it operates, including the GDPR and the CCPA.
We are not changing any of our practices. We are updating our privacy policy to be more clear, explicit, and transparent.
Today’s Update to Zoom’s Privacy Policy
Zoom takes its users’ privacy extremely seriously. Zoom collects only the data from individuals using the Zoom platform required to provide the service and ensure it is delivered effectively under a wide variety of settings in which our users may be operating. This data includes basic technical information, such as the user’s IP address, OS details, and device details.
Zoom has implemented safeguards to protect our users’ privacy, which includes robust and validated controls to prevent unauthorized access to any content that users share during meetings, including – but not limited to – the video, audio, and chat content of those meetings. Unless a meeting is recorded by the host, the video, audio, and chat content is not stored. Moreover, participants are notified through both audio and video when the host is recording a meeting through Zoom and have the choice to opt in or leave the meeting. When the meeting is recorded, it is, at the host’s choice, stored either locally on the host’s machine or in the Zoom cloud. We have access controls to prevent unauthorized access to meeting recordings saved to our cloud.
Importantly, Zoom does not mine user data or sell user data of any kind to anyone.
Third-Party Advertising
Like most technology companies with an online presence, on our marketing websites, such as zoom.us and zoom.com, we use third-party advertising service providers (like Google) to deliver tailored ads to our users about products visitors may find interesting. (For example, if you visit our website, later on, depending on your cookie preferences, you may see an ad from Zoom reminding you of features that Zoom has to offer.) However, this only pertains to user activity on the zoom.us website. No data regarding user activity on the Zoom platform – including video, audio, and chat content – is ever provided to third parties for advertising purposes. If you do not want to receive targeted ads about Zoom after visiting zoom.us, simply click the “Cookie Preferences” link at the bottom of any page on the zoom.us site and adjust the slider to “Required Cookies.”
Protecting the Privacy of K-12 Students
We are particularly committed to protecting the privacy of our K-12 users.
We have established guardrails to protect K-12 students using our services through their schools for their education. We have a special policy that describes how Zoom handles personal data of K-12 students using Zoom through their schools, who are signing up for Zoom services for their students. This special policy is designed to reflect our compliance with the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and other applicable laws. If you are a school administrator or teacher, please refer to this important policy: Zoom for K-12 Schools & Districts Privacy Policy.
Aside from providing services to K-12 students through school subscribers as discussed above, Zoom does not knowingly allow children under the age of 16 to sign up for their own accounts. If you are a parent or legal guardian and believe your child has given us information, you can contact us at privacy@zoom.us, and we will take appropriate steps to investigate and address the issue.
Complying with Law Enforcement
We comply with our legal obligations. This includes responding to valid legal process, including jurisdiction. We also comply with the legal obligations of our customers.
Our Commitment
As always, we will continue to monitor and evolve our approach to privacy to ensure we are doing the right thing for our users. We stand by our commitment to protecting the privacy of our customers’ data, and we consider privacy to be a core part of our company values — to care for our community, our customers, our employees, and our company.