Zoom update hides Meeting IDs to protect users from hackers

When it comes to securing your video calls from hackers and spammers, Zoom knows it set its users up to fail. But now a software update to the popular video-conferencing tool aims to do something about that. 

At issue are Zoom Meeting IDs. The update, which can be downloaded today, makes it harder for users to queue themselves up for ‘Zoombombings‘ by hiding the 9- to 11-digit ID numbers that were previously displayed prominently in every Zoom call. 

Until an April 4 update that forced users to employ meeting passwords, Meeting IDs acted in some sense like the phone number for an old-fashioned party call: If you had the number, then you could dial in. As we’ve written about extensively, many people new to the shelter-in-place life made necessary by the coronavirus couldn’t stop themselves from sharing screenshots and photos of their Zoom calls and work-from-home setups. Often, those photos included Zoom Meeting IDs. 

Yes, even people that definitely should have known better — like, for example, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson — made that mistake. And while the added protection of a password made it harder for hackers to break into calls, it definitely did not make it impossible. 

By no longer displaying Meeting IDs in calls, Zoom hopes to make it more difficult for oblivious users to mistakenly blow up their own spot. 

“Remove the meeting ID from the title bar,” reads the release note that comes with Zoom version 4.6.20041.0408. 

Image: screenshot / zoom app

To make sure you have the most up-to-date version of the desktop software, open up Zoom on your computer and select the “check for updates” option. If an update is available, download it. For Zoom iOS and Android apps, you should check for update availability in the App Store and Google Play store (it’s always important to keep apps up to date, as these sometimes contain vital security patches). Although, as of the time of this writing, the Android and iOS Zoom app-update pages show no sign of any changes to how Meeting IDs are displayed.

Zoom has struggled recently with its newfound popularity and this latest move is another example of the company being forced to retroactively make security changes. For people that are unwilling to use Zoom alternatives, this update will hopefully make their video-chatting experience slightly more secure. 

SEE ALSO: Zoom is a work-from-home privacy disaster waiting to happen

Of course, it won’t stop anyone from mistakenly sharing other private Zoom data. There’s no cure for stupid, after all.