Zoom to Pay $85 Million to Users for Misleading Encryption Claims

As part of a class action lawsuit settlement, Zoom says it will pay $85 million to users for misleading them about offering end-to-end encryption on its videoconferencing service.

zoom app icon
According to ArsTechnica, the company was accused of lying about its encryption description on its website and in a security white paper, as well as providing user data to Facebook and Google without users' permission.

Filed at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the proposed settlement will give Zoom users around $15 or $25 each, depending on whether they had a free or paid subscription between March 30, 2016 and July 30, 2021. Assuming the settlement is approved by the court, the payments will apply to Zoom users nationwide.

In addition to payments, Zoom agreed to over a dozen major changes to its practices, "designed to improve meeting security, bolster privacy disclosures, and safeguard consumer data," according to the settlement. A hearing on the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary approval of the settlement is scheduled for October 21, 2021.

In April 2020, Zoom faced accusations of misleading encryption claims after an investigation by The Intercept revealed that Zoom was securing video calls using TLS encryption, the same technology that web servers use to secure HTTPS websites.

TLS encryption is different to end-to-end encryption, a term that refers to a way of protecting user content so that the company has no access to it whatsoever.

For Zoom meetings to be truly end-to-end encrypted, calls would need to be encrypted in such a way that ensured only the participants in the meeting had the ability to decrypt them through the use of local encryption keys. But that level of security was not what the service offered at the time.

Update: A Zoom spokesperson provided MacRumors with the following statement:

The privacy and security of our users are top priorities for Zoom, and we take seriously the trust our users place in us. We are proud of the advancements we have made to our platform, and look forward to continuing to innovate with privacy and security at the forefront.

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ? Avatar
22 months ago
Wow! They should pay more than $85 millions dollars. You can’t put a price on privacy. How did they get away with it this whole time? Sucks to be a victim of totally misleading, providing data to other companies. Total Fraud!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Frustratedperson Avatar
22 months ago
The world is just full of liars. They shouldn’t be forced to pay compensation, they should be forced to shut the service down, take the assets of the owners and the owners go to prison for a long time to send a message to all companies that if you blatantly lie, you go to prison and go bankrupt.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johannnn Avatar
22 months ago
I'm normally very against most class actions and EU fines. But this made me not wanting to use Zoom, ever, again.

"the company was accused of lying about its encryption description on its website and in a security white paper, as well as providing user data to Facebook and Google without users' permission."
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I@beck Avatar
22 months ago
I think the personal data is more valuable than $15 or $30 regardless you are free or paid subscription..
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
22 months ago

Wow! They should pay more than $85 millions dollars. You can’t put a price on privacy. How did they get away with it this whole time? Sucks to be a victim of totally misleading, providing data to other companies. Total Fraud!
They didn't, it was exposed in April 2020... yet people still carried on regardless.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TakeshimaIslands Avatar
22 months ago
A chinese owned company not being honest with the consumer and installing phone-home backdoors into their hardware/software?

*surprised Pikachu*
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16

iOS 16.4 Now Available for Your iPhone With These 8 New Features

Friday March 31, 2023 8:55 am PDT by
Following six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 was released to the public this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and changes added with iOS 16.4,...
CarPlay Phone Call

General Motors to Phase Out Apple CarPlay Starting This Year in EV Transition

Friday March 31, 2023 8:43 am PDT by
General Motors (GM) will phase out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its vehicles starting this year, shifting to a built-in infotainment system co-developed with Google (via Reuters). GM owns Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC in the United States. It will stop offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, which goes on sale this summer. The company plans ...
iOS 17 on Phone Feature

Three New iOS Features Coming to Your iPhone Following Apple Music Classical

Thursday March 30, 2023 7:13 am PDT by
With the Apple Music Classical app and an Apple Pay Later early access program now available, the list of previously-announced iOS features that have yet to launch is beginning to shrink. However, there are still a few features we are waiting for. Below, we have recapped three more iOS features that are expected to launch in 2023, including an Apple Card savings account for Daily Cash,...
wwdc 2023

Three Products We Might See at WWDC 2023

Friday March 31, 2023 3:37 pm PDT by
Apple this week announced the official dates for the 34th annual Worldwide Developers Conference, with the annual WWDC keynote event set to take place on Monday, June 5. The keynote is where Apple unveils new versions of iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, and sometimes, we get hardware announcements. Rumors this year suggest there are at least three new devices that are set to be unveiled in the ...
iPhone 15 Pro Multi Purpose button Mute Switch Feature Green 2

iPhone 15 Pro Solid-State Button Sensitivity Can Be Customized to Cater for Cases and Gloves

Thursday March 30, 2023 11:36 pm PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max users will be able to customize the sensitivity of the solid-state buttons on their device, thanks to a new sensitivity toggle in Settings. That's according to details provided by a hitherto reliable source that shared additional details on the MacRumors forums. Earlier this week, the same anonymous tipster revealed that the iPhone 15 Pro models will use...
apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Kuo: Apple Mixed-Reality Headset May Not Appear at WWDC as Mass Production Pushed Back Yet Again

Thursday March 30, 2023 4:50 am PDT by
Apple has again pushed back mass production of its mixed-reality headset and the device may not appear at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane In a tweet, Kuo explained that Apple "isn't very optimistic" about whether the headset will be able to create an "iPhone moment." As a result,...
iPhone 15 Pro Periscope Mock Feature

Periscope Camera Lens Exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro Max Will Be Supplied by Largan

Thursday March 30, 2023 1:18 am PDT by
The periscope camera lens that will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max will be solely supplied by Largan, according to the 相機鏡頭中獲利-apple-camera-lens-suppliers-face-two-risks-high-53db8da990b2">latest no by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Rumors about the iPhone getting a periscope lens have been circulating since early 2020, when Kuo first mentioned the possibility. The analyst...