- Free accounts of the application that need to activate end-to-end encryption will have to prove additional information – such as the verification of a phone number via text message;
- Earlier this month, Zoom announced revenue growth of 169% YoY due to COVID-19, in its Q1 results for the fiscal year of 2021.
Videoconference platform Zoom announced this Wednesday on its website that will roll out an end-to-end encryption update on the service, allowing all users to have the security feature, both free and paid accounts.
The company announced that the decision was taken after consulting with crypto experts, representatives of governments, civil liberties organizations, the defense of children, as well as their own users. According to Zoom, the new strategy will offer a balance between security and privacy for users and the service.
“Today, Zoom released an updated E2EE [end-to-end encryption] design on GitHub. 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,” the company stated in a blogpost on its website. “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.”
Free accounts of the application that need to activate end-to-end encryption will have to prove additional information – such as the verification of a phone number via text message. The measure aims to curb the mass creation of registrations for abusive practices.
Zoom’s end-to-end encryption system will be activated in a Beta test starting in July. The company warns that the feature is incompatible with some types of access, such as traditional telephone lines or some company conference systems.
