Start or join a 100-person meeting with crystal-clear, face-to-face video, high quality screen sharing, and instant messaging - for free. Zoom brings video conferencing, online meetings and group messaging into one easy-to-use application.

It's super easy: install the free Zoom app, click on "Host a Meeting" and invite up to 100 people to join.

Zoom offers video, audio and screen-sharing experience across Windows PC, macOS, iOS, Android and H.323/SIP room systems.

What is the difference between paid and free Zoom?

Zoom free license gives you unlimited time for individual meetings, but group meetings are limited to 40 minutes with up to 100 video participants. A free license also allows for screen sharing. Zoom Pro (paid) gets you unlimited group meetings, a personalized meeting ID, and access to add-ons like Zoom Webinars, Zoom Rooms, Cloud Room Connector, etc.

What happens if I go over 40 minutes on Zoom?

After 40 minutes, the meeting will end, in this case users can restart the meeting after waiting 1 minute by clicking the same meeting link or starting a new meeting.

Do I need an account to attend a Zoom meeting?

No, you do not need an account to attend a Zoom meeting. However, if you want to host a meeting, you must first sign up for an account.

Is Zoom secure?

By default, free and paid Zoom accounts use 256-bit AES encryption to share audio, video, and application sharing. Right now, Zoom also offers End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) as a technical preview, though enabling this setting also disables some features.

Can I record a meeting with Zoom?

Yes, you can record meetings on your local device with a free license. Pro accounts add 1GB storage for cloud recording.

What are the best Zoom alternatives?

There are several Zoom alternatives, some of them include free plans to host meetings like Google Meet, Cisco Webex, Skype, and MS Teams.

Features

Android

  • Screen share directly from your Android device
  • Screen share photos, web and Google Drive, Dropbox or Box files
  • Send group text, images and audio from mobile and desktop
  • Contact availability status
  • Easily invite phone, email or company contacts
  • Join as interactive participant or view-only webinar attendee
  • Works over WiFi, 4G/LTE and 3G networks
  • Safe driving mode while on the road
  • Connect with anyone on Android, other mobile devices, Windows, Mac, iOS, ZoomPresence, H.323/SIP room systems, and telephones

Chrome

The Zoom Chrome Extension allows participants to schedule Zoom cloud meetings directly from Google Calendar. With the click of a button, you can start an instant meeting or schedule a future meeting. The meeting URL and information is sent via a Google Calendar invitation so the attendee can join with a single-click. Zoom Chrome Extension allows you to:

  • Start an instant meeting
  • Schedule a meeting
  • Schedule a meeting for other

Focus Mode

In focus mode, only the host can see participants' videos and profile pictures. You can start Focus Mode from the "More" menu on the toolbar of the desktop client. This setting is available at the account-, group-, and user-level settings pages. This requires the desktop client for Windows or macOS version 5.7.3 or higher.

What's New

Minor bug fixes

  • Resolved an issue where users are getting error Zoom is temporarily unable to display this page when modifying or saving a webinar

New and enhanced features

General features

  • Dynamic Island support - iOS
    • Users with an iPhone on iOS 16 or higher can view live activities on the lock screen or the Dynamic Island, while there is an ongoing meeting but Zoom is not the current active app.
  • Additional MSI/PLIST/GPO/MDM options
    • Allow use of Zoom Mesh - EnableMeshNetworking - Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
    • Enabled by default, this policy allows admins to control use of Zoom Mesh, even if Zoom Mesh is enabled and deployed for their account and location.

Meeting/webinar features

  • Custom text color for captions - Windows, macOS, Linux
  • Users can customize the color of the captioning text with a color palette to suit their needs for automated and translated captions.

Meeting features

  • Interpreter exemption to host preventing participants from unmuting - Windows, macOS, Linux
  • Host designated interpreters will be able to unmute themselves even when the host prevents participants from unmuting themselves. Previously, all participants in a meeting, except for the host and co-host, were blocked from unmuting if the host prevented unmuting through the in-meeting security controls.
  • Continuous Meeting Chat file and images synchronization - Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
  • Files and images shared during the meeting synchronize with the dedicated group chat created for the meeting, allowing participants to access them after the meeting. In the same fashion, files and images shared in the dedicated meeting group chat will synchronize with in-meeting chat. This feature will not be immediately available, as it is dependent on a backend server update currently scheduled for May 8, 2023.
  • Zoom IQ Meeting Summary - Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
  • Users can enable this feature to take advantage of the wealth of information generated in meetings. After enabling on the web portal, the smart summary will create transcripts of your meetings, including next steps for participants. All meeting participants will be notified that the summary is being generated, and the meeting host can stop the smart summary at any time, if necessary.

Webinar features

  • Webinar automated and translated captions enhancements - Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
  • Translated captions in webinars are enhanced to make it simpler for attendees while providing hosts with greater control before the webinar starts. Hosts can set their own speaking language, as well as the speaking language of the webinar and of each panelist, before the webinars starts. To avoid confusion, webinar attendees will have the speaking language option removed from their controls, but can still choose the language they want captions translated to if translated captions are available in the webinar.
  • Webinar Resources - Speakers details - Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
  • Webinar hosts can also add information about their speakers, which will appear in the Resources tab during the live webinar. Information such as name, profile picture, job title, company details, biography, and links to social media can be provided.

Team Chat features

  • Changing Continuous Meeting Chat ownership - Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
  • Users with scheduling privileges can change the host of a meeting, and if Continuous Meeting Chat is enabled, the ownership of that associated chat channel will also be transferred to the new host.
  • Adding guest participants to dedicated group chat for Continuous Meeting Chat - Windows, macOS
  • When the host ends a meeting with Continuous Meeting Chat enabled and guest participants in attendance, the host will be prompted to review the guest attendees and choose if they want them added to the group chat and continue having access to the discussion. By default, guest participants, which are participants not directly invited to the meeting through the calendar event, only have access to the chat discussion while in the meeting.
  • Continuous Meeting Chat file and images synchronization - Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
  • Files and images shared during the meeting synchronize with the dedicated group chat created for the meeting, allowing participants to access them after the meeting. In the same fashion, files and images shared in the dedicated meeting group chat will synchronize with in-meeting chat. This feature will not be immediately available, as it is dependent on a backend server update currently scheduled for May 8, 2023.
  • Increase max file size for Team Chat (1:1s, Group Chats, Channels) - Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
  • The maximum file size that Team Chat users can upload and share files with others is increased to 1 GB per file. Account owners and admins who use file transfer controls can allow files of up to 1 GB to be shared in a Team Chat. Previously admins could allow files of up to 512 MB.
  • Additional supported languages for Message Translation - Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
  • The following additional languages are supported: Arabic, Hebrew, Bangla, Danish, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, and Swedish.

Mail and Calendar features

  • Sort inbox by unread - Windows, macOS
  • Users can sort their emails to view their unread emails first.
  • Out-of-office notice for internal recipients - Windows, macOS
  • When adding an internal recipient to an email and that recipient currently has their status set to Out of Office, users will be notified of that user's current status. This can set the expectation that the recipient may not respond promptly.
  • Encryption key change notification - Windows, macOS
  • Zoom Mail Service users can choose to be notified when a recipient's encryption key has changed, which can help prompt users to reach out to the recipient through another method, confirming the change is to be expected and there is no security risk with this change.
  • Dark mode for Zoom Calendar - Android, iOS
  • Zoom Calendar supports dark mode on mobile devices.

Phone features

  • Hide incoming calls while in meeting - Android, iOS
  • Users can use a setting in their mobile client to hide incoming calls while in a meeting. If using chat, users can define a custom 160 characters message that is automatically sent to internal callers when their call is suppressed while they are in a meeting. Previously hiding incoming calls was only supported on the desktop client.

Contact Center features

  • Take over video engagements - Windows, macOS
  • If enabled by an admin, supervisors can take over an active video engagement.
  • Transfer to Zoom Phone voicemail - Windows, macOS
  • Agents can transfer a voice engagement directly to a Zoom Phone user's voicemail.
  • Ask consumer to unmute - Windows, macOS
  • Agents can use the participants list to ask the consumer to unmute. Participants will receive a prompt asking them to confirm the action to unmute.
  • Address book contacts for chat and video - Windows, macOS
  • Agents can add web chat and video consumers to the address book. This applies to in-app and web engagements in the chat and video channel. When agents receive an engagement, they will see the associated contact's information.

Resolved Issues

  • Minor bug fixes
  • Security enhancements
  • Resolved an issue regarding OTP verification failures - Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
  • Resolved an issue with incorrect Portuguese localizations of scheduling options - Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
  • Resolved an issue regarding special characters not being displayed correctly in the Activity Center - Windows, macOS
  • Resolved an issue regarding slide control compatibility with the Czech language localization of Powerpoint - Windows, macOS
  • Resolved an issue regarding call forwarding causing the call to drop - macOS, Android
  • Resolved an issue for a subset of users regarding annotation causing the Zoom client to crash - Windows
  • Resolved an issue regarding inconsistent UAC behavior when using the IntegrateZoomWithOutlook policy with zRecommend - Windows
  • Resolved an issue regarding call control causing incoming calls to not properly launch an external app or URL - Windows
  • Resolved an issue regarding the Zoom Rooms tab not appearing when attempting to invite others to a live meeting - Windows
  • Resolved an issue regarding waiting room customizations not appearing properly - Windows
  • Resolved an issue regarding links being improperly recognized as links to a Team Chat message - macOS
  • Resolved an issue regarding personal contact information not being pulled correctly - macOS
  • Resolved an issue regarding recent Team Chat messages not syncing properly - macOS
  • Resolved an issue regarding unread meeting chat message counts not appearing - Linux
  • Resolved an issue regarding chat notification sounds - Linux
  • Resolved an issue regarding incoming calls not ringing as expected - Android
  • Resolved an issue regarding deletion of a meeting - Android
  • Resolved an issue regarding inconsistent visuals for participants in the waiting room - iOS
  • Resolved an issue regarding inconsistent behavior for taking a call off hold - iOS
  • Resolved an issue regarding double-registration and poor LTE wireless connection - iOS