Zoom Now Says End-to-End Encryption Will Be Available for All Users

In a U-turn by the popular videoconferencing platform, Zoom this week announced it will make end-to-end encryption available to all users, both paid and unpaid.

zoom logo

...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.

To make this possible, Free/Basic users seeking access to E2EE will participate in a one-time process that will prompt the user for additional pieces of information, such as verifying a phone number via a text message. Many leading companies perform similar steps on account creation to reduce the mass creation of abusive accounts. We are confident that by implementing risk-based authentication, in combination with our current mix of tools -- including our Report a User function -- we can continue to prevent and fight abuse.

End-to-end encryption ensures no one but the participants and their devices can see and hear what is happening in a meeting, although it will exclude people who call in to Zoom meetings from a telephone line.

Zoom has attracted millions of free and paying customers amid the global health crisis, with stay-at-home measures causing a surge in the number of people working remotely.

Zoom originally said its initial decision to offer full encryption to premium users only had been based on "a combination of technological, safety and business factors," however in this case it appears as though public pressure won out and led the company to reconsider.

Apple already uses end-to-end encryption to protect FaceTime users as call data travels between two or more devices. Even Apple can't decrypt the call and listen in to user's conversations.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

Eriamjh1138@DAN Avatar
66 months ago
Had to shame them to do it.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sasparilla Avatar
66 months ago
Zoom has been caught over and over saying one thing and then doing something else, whether its installing a server on their Mac product that stayed after uninstalling and kept sending user data back to Zoom ('https://www.theregister.com/2019/07/09/zoom_mac_webcam_security_patch/'), or routing user traffic through China, or saying they had end 2 end encryption when they didn't. Their developers are located in China for the cost savings (I'm sure the Chinese govt likes it as well).

There are plenty of other alternatives out there folks with real End 2 End encryption - these guys compete with Zuckerburg for saying one thing and doing something shady, over and over again.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
icanhazmac Avatar
66 months ago

Zoom has been caught over and over saying one thing and then doing something else, whether its installing a server on their Mac product that stayed after uninstalling and kept sending user data back to Zoom ('https://www.theregister.com/2019/07/09/zoom_mac_webcam_security_patch/'), or routing user traffic through China, or saying they had end 2 end encryption when they didn't.
THIS!

Way too many sketchy moves by ownership/management for me to ever trust this company, never thought I would actually trust a Google product more.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Airforcekid Avatar
66 months ago

This is welcome news.

I personally trust them and am not worried there is some nefarious or incompetency going on. To each their own I guess. They are simply the best combination of features, functions and now security, imo.
After they banned any accounts that talked about the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre I was done with them. It also explained all the .cn domains I was seeing on my PiHole.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Stig Avatar
66 months ago
They are lying.

They said before when it was going to be for paying customers only that they can let law enforcement monitor calls.

It's not End to End, but point to point. Which is better than nothing, and isn't necessarily bad. But it's not end to end encryption.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ian87w Avatar
66 months ago

You have to give some credit to Zoom for really trying to turn things around, because of the attention they have recieved I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being more secure than other options.
Ture, although it's sad that this much scrutiny is needed for them to actually do things properly.

But still, it's all for the better. I'm more comfortable using Zoom now. Let's hope their integrity is intact once the attention is moving elsewhere.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)