Zoom Video Communications, the company behind popular video-conferencing application Zoom, has announced that it will offer end-to-end Encryption for video calls. The company has revealed that it will offer this feature to all Zoom users across the globe.
The company has confirmed that the end-to-end encryption will be available to both free and paid users. Earlier, the company said users with free accounts will not be offered video/audio calls with its encryption standards. However, it seems that the company has finally decided to bring this feature to all of its users.
“We are also pleased to share that we have identified a path forward that balances the legitimate right of all users to privacy and the safety of users on our platform. This will enable us to offer E2EE as an advanced add-on feature for all of our users around the globe – free and paid – while maintaining the ability to prevent and fight abuse on our platform,” the company said.
The company has revealed that it will begin with the early beta trial of the end-to-end encryption in July 2020. The brand has further revealed that all Zoom users will continue to use AES 256 GCM transport encryption as the default encryption. The company has further revealed that users seeking access to end-to-end encryption will have to provide additional information such as verifying a phone number via a text message. Zoom says that this will reduce the mass creation of abusive accounts.
The company has further revealed that end-to-end encryption will be an optional feature as it limits some meeting functionality such as the ability to include traditional PSTN phones or SIP/H.323 hardware conference room systems. Users will have an option to toggle the encryption on or off on a per-meeting basis. Furthermore, account administrators can also enable and disable end-to-end encryption at the account and group level.