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Zoom monitors activity on your computer

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Re: Zoom monitors activity on your computer

#41

via Zoom Support Reply: https://twitter.com/zoom_us/status/1241768006327336963 "Hi, attention tracking feature is off by default - once enabled, hosts can tell if participants have the App open and active when the screen-sharing feature is in use. It does not track any aspects of your audio/video or other applications on your window." Points to this article: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115000538083-Atte…

The twitter thread in the OP says "collects data on the programs running" without backing anything up. Seems like FUD from the face of it. Yes, the privacy may not be perfect (according to EFF admins can see time spent by others in the organization on meetings etc.), and zoom can notify the meeting organizer about participants not having the window in focus. But that's it?

Not exactly the gravity touted in the linked twitter thread, saying "If you manage the calls, you can monitor what programs users on the call are running as well". No proof of that...

Kinda scared by how much a single tweet can make something blow up, without a shred of evidence backing the claims up.

Re: Zoom monitors activity on your computer

#42

From https://zoom.us/privacy : > Whether you have Zoom account or not, we may collect Personal Data from or about you when you use or otherwise interact with our Products. We may gather the following categories of Personal Data about you: > - Information commonly used to identify you, such as your name, user name, physical address, email address, phone numbers, and other similar identifiers > - Information about your…

This is standard language to cover everything in normal use. Billing details is obvious. Profile info is provided when you signup and use the service. The system info is used to run and optimize the calls. Zoom isn't actively scraping your info, and there's 0 evidence of anything in the Tweet.

Lawyerspeak: "It's just boilerplate."

Translation: "Yeah, that's one of the parts where we really screw you, but you don't have a choice, lol."

Re: Zoom monitors activity on your computer

#43
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't provided them with most of that.

Then they don't have it.

How do you know that? These statements leave other possibilities open:

It covers all Personal Data that you affirmatively provide during your interactions with us, information that we automatically collect when you interact with our Products, and information that we collect about you from third parties

Whether you have Zoom account or not, we may collect Personal Data from or about you when you use or otherwise interact with our Products.

Re: Zoom monitors activity on your computer

#44
post #16

That’s why we have been building https://qbix.com/platform To have an open source alternative. Want videoconferencing on your own site? You can! See here for instance. https://yang2020.app/meeting We have a harder challenge of making all the SDP offers work cross browser, but Chrome should def work. Code: https://github.com/Qbix (If you like it, star it lol ⭐️) Contact me if you want to learn how to use the Qbix plat…

What does this specifically have to do with videoconferencing? As far as I can tell, this is a general cross platform application framework. If that's the case, what is the value proposition vs something like the current dot net stack?

Re: Zoom monitors activity on your computer

#45

via Zoom Support Reply: https://twitter.com/zoom_us/status/1241768006327336963 "Hi, attention tracking feature is off by default - once enabled, hosts can tell if participants have the App open and active when the screen-sharing feature is in use. It does not track any aspects of your audio/video or other applications on your window." Points to this article: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115000538083-Atte…

All of which doesn’t say whether it’s the host or the attendee that gets to determine whether this feature is on or off.

Re: Zoom monitors activity on your computer

#46
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a feature for when doing webinars that can track focus: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115000538083-Atten...

That's awful.

It only tracks if the Zoom window has focus, not via facial recognition. How is that bad?

Re: Zoom monitors activity on your computer

#47

From https://zoom.us/privacy : > Whether you have Zoom account or not, we may collect Personal Data from or about you when you use or otherwise interact with our Products. We may gather the following categories of Personal Data about you: > - Information commonly used to identify you, such as your name, user name, physical address, email address, phone numbers, and other similar identifiers > - Information about your…

This is standard language to cover everything in normal use. Billing details is obvious. Profile info is provided when you signup and use the service. The system info is used to run and optimize the calls. Zoom isn't actively scraping your info, and there's 0 evidence of anything in the Tweet.

Yet.

There is an incentive to do so and they have taken measures to legally protect themselves if they do. That's grounds enough for alarm, even without evidence of them actually doing it.

Re: Zoom monitors activity on your computer

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is standard language to cover everything in normal use. Billing details is obvious. Profile info is provided when you signup and use the service. The system info is used to run and optimize the calls. Zoom isn't actively scraping your info, and there's 0 evidence of anything in the Tweet.

Lawyerspeak: "It's just boilerplate." Translation: "Yeah, that's one of the parts where we really screw you, but you don't have a choice, lol."

We do though.

Apply our agency to providing free software solutions that don’t that.

I suppose it’s easier to be a nihilist and complain though.

Re: Zoom monitors activity on your computer

#50
post #28

That's messed up. Our zoom usage at the company has skyrocketed these past few weeks. I was marveling at how smooth and seamless the process was. Though I was a bit peeved zoom always steers you to the installed app instead of keeping it in the browser. Now I know why...

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