Zoom users on Mac devices are reporting that the program is secretly recording them via the microphone, even if they're not on a call.
A picture taken on October 18, 2021 in Moscow shows the social network application Zoom's logo on a tablet screen.
According to a report by TechRadar, several Zoom Mac users were saying that the app is keeping their microphones on, even if they're only running it in the background. Furthermore, the problem seems to be limited to any and all Macbooks or Mac computers using the native version of the app on macOS Monterey.
Numerous user complaints indicate how Apple's recent visual update, which lets people know whenever an app or device is accessing their microphone or camera, helped them detect the problem. An orange dot will appear in the menu bar whenever the microphone is being accessed (green if it's the camera).
User complaints apparently started flooding in after the initial release of Monterey, writes The Register. Zoom also put out an update that supposedly aimed to fix the bug, but multiple people said the update never fixed anything at all.
In a specific Zoom community, one user reported that the orange dot kept persisting after the update. When they quit the app, it was only then when they realized they were on a 2-hour call, when they never even used the app in the first place.
Other Zoom Mac users aired their concerns on Twitter, with user Philipp Holly saying that the orange dot has remained on Mac despite the update:
Experienced this myself. You can see the orange dot on Mac since the last update, that shows mic usage. I always exit zoom after I used it.
— Philipp Holly (@phips28) February 9, 2022
Also, Airpods doesn't work properly after exiting a meeting, because they are still in bt mic mode (crappy music sound)
@Zoom fix it!
The update, called Zoom version 5.9.1, explicitly says in its official release note that it has already resolved the microphone light issue. But as many other users still report the bug post-update, there's no apparent way to fix it unless you completely turn the app off after a call.
Zoom has not commented on the issue yet, so this is a developing story.
Read Also: Video Meetings: Some People Love Seeing Their Reflection During Zoom, Google Calls, Study Claims
Zoom's History Of Privacy Concerns
It can be quite unnerving to know that even after you've finished a video call, your device is still recording you without your knowledge. That's a definitive concern at this day and age, but sadly, not something Zoom itself is new to.
Cybersecurity experts found out that Zoom has vulnerabilities that affect its client and MMR servers.
Tom's Guide provided a timeline of the biggest security problems that the popular video call service have experienced over the past year. Some of them are, quite frankly, disturbing to say the least.
One example is an accusation made by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to them, the company "misled" its users in terms of their own security, citing fake end-to-end encryption software which was discovered in March 2021. They also made an example of the Zoom app installing extra software on Mac devices without permission in 2018 and 2019.
Upon discovery of the fraudulent end-to-end encryption feature, the company reportedly even refused to pay affected users in a settlement. In truth, they lied about the feature being implemented since 2016. There are far more situations like this involving Zoom's shady user privacy dealings, however.
Related Article: Zoom Wants to Make the Digital World Safer, Joins Meta and Others to Fight Global Online Terrorism
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Written by RJ Pierce
