Zoom
Reviews and Complaints

ZOOM was well positioned when covid set in, but since then many platforms are available. Check them out before you sign up for ZOOM. They won’t let you out of the “contract”. I tried to get our struggling NOT FOR PROFIT a refund and was flatly denied, Obviously a business does not have to care about its customers, but maybe it is good business to care that a customer is not using your product so should be let out of the “contract” early.
ZOOM is no longer the best or easier to use. Try someone else. And many of them will let you cancel if do not use or like their product.

Google Meet (Best for collaborating on Google Workspace)
Microsoft Teams (Best for meetings with AI capabilities)
GoTo Meeting (Best simple interface with advanced features)
Cisco Webex (Best for secure, unified communications)
Discord (Best for interactive group communication)
TeamViewer (Best for remote access)
Slack (Best for instant meetings)
RingCentral Video (Best for sales meetings and calls)
Lark (Best for webinars and customization options)
Jitsi Meet (Best for free video conferencing)
Skype (Best for audio/video calls)
Zoho Meeting (Best for webinars and screen sharing)
Livestorm (Best for interactive video conferencing and events)
Chanty (Best for internal team communication)

Let me first say it is a pretty good app. It is easy to use and all that. But I have a few suggestions to make.

First of all, the reason why I give this app only 4 stars is it glitches. Every time, at least once someone freezes and when they talk it sounds like they are playing the guitar in slow-mo.

Another bad thing about Zoom is that upgrading your account costs so much money. Upgrading to pro costs $14.99 per month, and that’s the cheapest deal. The most expensive is $19.99 per month. Sure, people could probably afford that, but that’s still really expensive. Another app I use upgrading my account only costs $8.25 per month, and that is the most expensive. The cheapest is well, $2.42 per month, so good luck persuading me to upgrade to pro. Not doing it anytime soon.

Now let’s move on to the good stuff.

But I like it because it has never caused trouble for like starting or joining a meeting. It is really easy to do that. You just press the link or time in the meeting ID (and sometimes password) and it just starts connecting.

Also, you can rename yourself (unless the host disables it)

Another great thing about Zoom is that you can chat with others unless host disables it. Host disabling it is also a good thing because some people like to rename themselves into ossokfjmdmdkfkkskddk or something crazy like that.

Another great thing about Zoom is that you can lock the meeting. If everyone expected to come has joined, you can lock it so no bozo can join.

There is also a waiting room so if all participants have not joined yet if a bozo is trying to join you can remove from waiting room. You can also put people in waiting room and only chat to the people in waiting room, which is also a great feature of Zoom.

So yeah, this app is great, but it could have improvements. You could make the app not glitch and not make that freaky guitar sound.

Also, you could make a discount for upgrading to pro, like discounting the price to $9.99 for two weeks or so.

Though all the other features of Zoom are excellent. I really like this app.

As a first grade teacher, I’m going to speak on behalf of all teachers currently teaching on Zoom...we need the unmute feature back! Imagine having a Zoom meeting with a computer screen full of eager 5 and 6 year-olds. You’re about to start a read aloud, everyone is settled in, and just to make sure everyone can hear, you “mute all”. A few pages in, you stop to ask students what they predict might happen next. You allow the excited first graders a minute to think, then, all of a sudden their eyes get big, their smiles grow, and their thumbs go up...they’re ready to share their ideas with their class. You choose an eager participant, but before saying their name, click on the microphone icon to “unmute” them, to allow everyone to hear them. But, instead of giving them the ability to be heard by their friends, the message on your Zoom screen says, “Ask the participant to unmute themselves”. What?!? You try a different route, this time pulling up the participant list and clicking on the microphone icon, only to discover that you’ve received the same message, “Ask the participant to unmute themselves”. As a veteran teacher, you think quickly and pause from the excitement of the read aloud, which has now been interrupted, and do a quick mini-lesson on how to unmute yourself. Not surprisingly, your first graders meet your expectations, and after a few minutes, all of them have successfully practiced unmuting themselves. Without missing a beat, you jump right back into discussing the book, only to realize that in addition to calling on a student to share, you’ll need to preface it with, “Please unmute yourself”, followed by what could be several seconds of silence while everyone waits for the process to take place. No big deal you say? Well, next time you’re having a group conversation, try prefacing every question with, “Can you please unmute yourself?”, wait the average 10-15 seconds, and see how long it takes for you to pray for Zoom to bring back the “unmute” feature for hosts. Still not convinced? I invite you to join one of our upcoming Zooms. I just hope you don’t mind hearing, “Can you please unmute yourself?”

Zoom is supposed to be an app where you can make video calls, meetings, conferences, etc. for subjects such as school, office, work, home and businesses. If this isn’t the worst video call app then I don’t know what else is. Everybody has this app now since the pandemic has started. Nobody can really go anywhere accept for at school, work, or home. This app has given me many issues that never has been fixed. So I’ll start with my concerns here.

1. The video quality is very poor and all that you can see is pixelated things and sometimes, even the video freezes.

I’ve had this issue a bunch of times when I was on a zoom call with a grandmother that I had who was at a hospital. Her network and my network was completely fine and all of our bars were full so I didn’t see the problem. Whenever she was showing me things such as a written card or maybe something on tv, the camera couldn’t focus at all. She couldn’t read very well so I had a very hard time reading things that she showed me. So now every single zoom call that I have with her, it’s quite awkward since zoom has so many technical difficulties.

2. The microphone built in the app is horrible.

The most frequent problem that I’ve had more than the video quality is the microphone. It. is. horrible. I have school on zoom so whenever I’m answering a question that my professor asks me, she allows me to speak but then she says that my voice is cracking up. My professor doesn’t allow us to use chat because she doesn’t want us to cheat with our answers to make it seem as if we are copying and pasting, this has been a situation where one of the students has done this. Back to the story, after this has happened a few weeks in school, I decided to buy a new microphone to give it a shot. I’ve tested my microphone the night before I had school. Absolutely nothing worked and it was brand new. You had the same old crappy voice quality. It was such a waste of money all for someone to be able to hear you on a zoom call.

So what did I do? I gave up on zoom and I wanted to come back and write a long review in order to warn other people about the consequences of this app. It doesn’t help anything.

The sudden change in our lives from this pandemic, instantly isolating us in so many ways, and causing the loss of dear loved ones, has been hard to bear.

As Christian Jehovah’s Witnesses, we enjoy regular association and consider our meetings an essential part of our worship. (Hebrews 10:24,25) Almost immediately, our faithful and hard-working brothers and sisters in the technology departments found a way through the Zoom platform to organize us globally so we can continue our spiritual meetings and ministry. (Matthew 28:19,20)

It is no exaggeration to say that lives have been saved through the ability to continue to communicate and Zoom has had a very big part in that for us.

Not only have we been able to continue with our free public Bible study program, and our uplifting Bible-based meetings emphasizing how Jehovah God and our King, Christ Jesus, are going to bring about freedom from all sadness, injustice and death (Revelation 21:3-5), it has been incredibly wonderful to globally enjoy our summer convention on Zoom simultaneously with our free website JW.org.

The annual convention, with this year’s theme Always Rejoice, is a highlight of our year. It was an absolute boost and confirmation of my personal faith, and that of so many others, to witness the strength and ability given to be able to quickly create and organize the talks and videos online in over 400 languages and then enjoy it almost simultaneously throughout the globe. (2 Corinthians 6:10)

An added benefit has been that homebound and hospital bound friends and neighbors have been able to now join our meetings and social gatherings. What a delight, comfort and encouragement that has been to all of us and to them.

It is our hope that the danger of this pandemic and deadly virus is quickly behind us, but it’s easy to see that online communication, such as provided by Zoom, has many important benefits and is now a part of our lives for the foreseeable future.

Thank you all at Zoom for your continued work at making and keeping this communication and meeting platform working smoothly for all of us.

May you and your loved ones all stay safe and well,

Very best regards,

Sharon

If you need to regularly join a meeting via phone audio, you might just throw your phone against the wall because of Zoom’s HORRIBLE user experience. Specifically, if you joined on a computer and want to connect audio via phone call: 1) It takes so much unnecessary time to do so. You have to call the number, type the meeting id, type the meeting passcode, type the participant id. This is fixed if they simply ADD A “join by” QR CODE. Save me typing in 4 sequences of 30+ numbers for EVRY meeting I join! What is this 2010? ADD A QR CODE. Please! Please just do it. On the tab that says ‘join via phone audio?‘ ADD A QR CODE. Just do it. Please. It’d be a MAJOR upgrade. 2) if joining a meeting that hasn't been opened by the host yet, forget it! A) the time it takes for my computer to join the meeting and then display my participant id so I can connect via phone is LONGER than the time the Zoom phone call gives you to input the participant id, meaning I get prompted to input participant IDwait bc i don’t have a participant id yetthen am told I didn’t input a participant id (grrr.. it’s because YOUR app is still loading on my computer!), then I get prompted to input meeting passcode, I input that, and then I have to input my participant id because by that time my computer’s joined the meeting and finally shows the participant id. This may sound confusing, but if you try joining a meeting via phone audio that hasnt started and you want to connect your computer video with your phone call, it will take you doing so ONE TIME to see the blatantly awful user experience I am talking about. B) the waiting room music when a call hasnt started yet. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, give me a “press one for silence if you don’t want to listen to our god-awful quality waiting room music that makes people want to commit violence.” Do not force me to listen to terrible sounding music. Users cannot just turn the volume down, because then you wouldn’t notice when the meeting starts. It’s up to companies to give the user the choice! Otherwise it’s completely non consensual noise torture! Reduce violence across the world by fixing your horrible user experience for people who connect to audio via phone when they join a Zoom on their computer.

My far-flung family recently needed to speak together regarding treatment planning for my elderly father. Family members young and old, nurses and companions, close friends, and my father as well—we were all able to participate. The platform allowed for an organized, thoughtful discussion about a very emotional and logistically complicated topic. Each individual was given the opportunity to speak in turn, without lags or interruptions.

What proved most beneficial, yet was not anticipated beforehand: the facial expressions and (upper) body language of all speakers and all listeners were able to be clearly conveyed, simultaneously, as the discussion progressed. This was in distinct contrast to typical meetings, where people are spread around a large table or large room, let alone the half-engaged, often desultory, participation typical of most phone conferences.

Using Zoom, people could respond to eachother directly, and to the whole group, in a thoughtful, non-rhetorical way. There were not any text or email “gotcha” phrases or self-promotion. There was little attempt or easy way to balkanize into divisive, tribal groups.

Honestly, I am not sure why, but this was one of the most constructive, respectful, mutually supportive, and focused dialogues we have ever had as a family. I am a doctor who has worked in large institutions and attended numerous coferences, and I have NEVER seen a consensus emerge in such a cooperative and considerate manner, with such a high level of participation. And trust me, this extended family group does not typically agree on very much, let alone remain civil when disagreements start to mount.

Maybe because tone of voice, eye contact, facial exressions, hand gestures, many of the non-verbal cues that not only form the context of our words, but are an intrinsic component of our communication, were clearly conveyed. Maybe the full-face view of everyone present discouraged rash or disparging comments—definitely no eye-roles or sneering. Maybe our “mirror neurons” could be activated, increasing trust and dare I say, empathy? (I am a behavioral neurolgist).

I’ve heard in the news recently about security breaches, but Zoom provides many redundant, easily implemented options to ensure the privacy of Zoom meetings. Just take a bit of time to read through these security recommendations before scheduling your meetings. It is all in plain language and very user-friendly.

Zoom is excellent!

Before I get to the features part, a company cannot get higher than a one rating when I have a business account of 300 participants and get zero tech-support. 1) many bad programming design choices, such as, when u want to share a portion of ur screen, u don’t get to set it up first before it goes live. The green box doesn’t show up until u share. They need to give u the ability to set up the share before u go live! Duh! 2) waiting room is great, except that u can only “text chat” with the person before letting them in. There needs to be a video preview so u can verify who it is. 3) breakout rooms is nice, but again it falls flat because of the MAJOR design problem. When u assign someone to a breakout room all programming restrictions/security go out the window. You no longer have control over a person. You can’t even remove them from the breakout room or even remove them from the meeting. So if someone misbehaves too bad, they’ve ruined ur meeting. You have to end it for everyone. You can’t even assign them to a different room if they exit to the main room first. They have to go back into the room they came from and then u can reassign them. Really? 4) this is probably more user error but the notification that someone wants to chat with u should be larger, or pop out to a window, bring focus to the notification some way better. We have people that seem to miss it all the time. And especially when in the waiting room. We aren’t even sure this works because no one has seen the notification to respond. 5) if u use breakout rooms you cannot use remote control. Why? 6) zoom gets confused sometimes. After the new upgrade to version 5, we started noticing that zoom swapped the screen designations (1 and 2), for our host person using two monitors. That cause the host to share the wrong screen several times until we figured out what was happening. Windows had the right designation so it was a zoom problem again. Only rebooting the machine would fix it. Unacceptable! 7) also during share if u already have ur app or program setup to share and it already in full screen mode forget it, zoom won’t recognize it, it will not show up as an option to share. Should I go on and on. We found this program to have very bad design or decision making on features and how they operate which caused us to question the intelligence of the team of developers! Not to mention it was very discerning to find out that the company is considered a possible Chinese spy by the government of the USA.

1. Their UX & Upsale:

If it is the case that I would like to upgrade to Pro, then their UI should not be so difficult in me finding a way to upgrade my service.

Context: Downloaded for a conference call. Signing up for the app didn’t give me an option outside of Basic. Once basic ends there is no pitch for the user to upgrade to pro to continue their call. On their app interface, it is also not intuitive as to how to upgrade. Settings & “User Type” tab doesn’t enable selection of upgrades (Not sure if bug)‍♂️

With that in mind - this app doesn’t want my money nor for me to use it in any significant manner.

2. Buggy Wireless Sync:

Syncing with my airpods dropped me from the conference.

Test 2 - syncing with my Galaxy buds also dropped me from the conference.

3. Chat does not save:
Being able to either
A) Have an intuitive system to find previous private/everyone chats (if it is the case this is a feature)

or

B) Actually create the feature of saving chat discussions from meetings outside of the meeting itself.

Taking notes & keeping them are important. Being able to do that from within meetings or retain notes of private chats are equally so.

Overall:
I suspect this could actually be a really good app - it has 4-5 stars, but the UI/UX was not pleasant nor intuitive for my first time. And... I shouldn’t have to look up a Youtube video in order to learn how to interact w/one’s app.

My committee group chose zoom for a purpose, & I suspect it has it’s value for the person selecting to host via Zoom. But from this first impression I would look through a lot of other competitors before using this app for any of my own business’s virtual meetings. And for informal or private committees really leverage the free alternatives available.

Bonus for Zoom Developers:
I’m literally most upset that as someone willing to spend money the app didn’t provide that opportunity. Counterintuitive design & lack of product onboarding hurts. Having a prompt for those you start at basic making an ask when their time runs out (even if small) could increase sales, especially if pro is directed at consumers. Even if small-mid sized businesses, if my first experience is from the invite of direct consumer - I’m not buying bulk w/my business if my unrelated individual experience was trash. Lmk when to try this again (4 stars can’t all be bots )

For the Product Skeptic who Made To Cliff Notes:

Lingo Translations:
UI = User Interface (Design)
UX = User Experience (Experience of design)

OK so that's a song from the children's PBS show Zoom (for those of us lucky enough to be at our most impressionable mental state in the late 1970s early 1980s...insert plethora of reasons we are in therapy here).

However "send it to zoom" maybe need be their tagline. I've sent my access codes (i'm sorry but the code is not recognized) ; my dropped phone calls, my non working audio devices , my Device not found video tools and my hopes wishes and dreams... to a dozen enterprise and personal Tele and video conferencing systems over the years. And if I never have to use any of them ever again I'll be a happy person.

At least for now zoom has my heart.
A program that loads on most every any device quickly and without constant error messages or updates.
A company that seems to think about the needs of the many and not the needs of their pocketbook.
For those supporting or implementing solutions utilizing zoom, an evolving but not unmanageable choice of settings and options to opt into or out of as you so need. Including opting into system status updates for the few-n-far between-n-usually invisible issues Zoom happens to cause as well as updates The myriad of issues beyond their creation , like you know Amazon crashing the Internet for hours which upon first glance looks like zoom is down, not (nod to SNL)
A communication tool that figures out the best Mike speakers and video device available and connects them automatically, with informs you of the choice and prompts for changes when available.
Web-based tool with the ability to reconnect you automatically when network or web issues break the connection, yaazz!
A web conference tool that allows 200+ simultaneous HD video streams that automatically adjust for low band-width and make you look like a superstar instead of jaundice or ghostly as some FaceSkipEx things might do. (OK ZM may not be utopia quite yet. Since they have a little to no control over the bazaar facts that most office spaces conference centers, hotel rooms etc. seem to have green or yellow tinted paint or wallpaper; back-lighting, often fluorescent at that…but I'm sure they're looking into it with a nice paradigm shift option to have the "green" curtain behind you and choose the background atmosphere of your imagination (Mine may always include blue for me to make my eyes pop).

And many more… Zoom gets seven out of five stars from this devoted fan.

Pardon typos and any offenses to the English grammar and spelling police; I'm not spending mas tiempo editing this thing. Be good to you today , Hugs

The learning curve is… more of a roundabout. Once you figure out when to merge and yield, and how to find your exit and get out without any major mishaps, Zoom becomes not just a WINDOW to the outside world, but a veritable TARDIS (pardon the Doctor Who reference, I’m sure that was, if not baffling, then surely irritating).

Nevertheless, for this ersatz hermit, having barely managed to figure out how to enter a “meeting” and not thoroughly disrupt it (key: mute yourself immediately and start off without video - once you’re acclimated you can choose to show yourself or not, but nobody needs to see you fumbling and shifting around, the movement is distracting to others).

I’m being serious when I say I’ve barely managed this; not only do I not yet know ANY of the bells & whistles, but I still haven’t figured out how to make the camera on my borrowed laptop film me from farther away than an extreme close-up.

To be fair, I spend most of my life in bed (long story short: MS), so spend most of these meetings turning and twisting trying to find a position that isn’t so uncomfortable I just decide to turn off the laptop and go back to watching TV in feral position. So, the video remains off until it’s my turn to speak… then I turn it on and am aghast to find everyone is probably looking at my right cheekbone and ear, and possibly they see my face when I move to say something emphatically.

I’m exaggerating, of course, but not by much. I can’t really TELL what others see - all I see is my thumbnail, and to ME, well… first, it APPEARS close to black & white. But that doesn’t make much sense, does it?

Second, it’s oddly blurry. Maybe that’s the laptop’s problem. It IS a hand-me-down, some ancient HP (and I’ve never used anything but Macs, so there’s another hurdle)…

Third, it’s REALLY close up. Everyone else looks normal and natural, as if they’re being interviewed by a news crew; I look like I’m being secretly recorded by a tiny spycam hidden in someone’s top button.

Does all this sound like I dislike the Zoom experience? Because I really, really like it. Frankly, if I didn’t have to talk at all, it would be heavenly. But there’s that whole “participate in your life” thing… Not the fault of Zoom, of course.

If you’re reading this and haven’t tried it - take it from an agoraphobic semi-Luddite who’s - not exactly AFRAID of trying new things (especially technological things), but let’s call it - WARY of this brave new world with its launches of new products every 12 hours and miles long user agreement forms that could be hiding in them our unbreakable legal commitment to generational serfdom in perpetuity…

Zoom is gonna rock your world. {{{}}}

I thought it would get a better one and then I get it I’ll be there at the house I’ll get ya food I’ll get ya in my car and get some rest I will get it to ya thanks bro I know use it to get to the end tho so I don’t know what I’ll do to be sorry I’ll get you some food and I’ll get ya back to you some time soon I will be there I’ll get you some food and I’ll get ya to go I’ll be right I’ll get them and to be sure I can go I’ll be right now I can take care your house I’ll be home by about a half hour or I’ll get ya food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get ya food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you food and I’ll get you some food I’ll bring some more stuff for food I love to eat here I can eat it all food I’ll eat you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you food and I’ll get you some food I’ll eat you some food and I’ll get you food I’ll get you some food I’ll eat you some food and I’ll eat you some food I’ll be there I’ll eat it when I’m done eating and then I’m home I love food I don’t get food and I can get food I’ll be home in about a week and then I get to get some food and I’ll be back home soon and get you some food and I’ll get you food I’ll get some stuff done before I’ll come over soon so you don’t know what you mean to eat and I can go to the store to pick you food I can eat it all food and I’ll get you some stuff and get some food and I’ll get you food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you food and I’ll be back home I’ll eat it all night thanks I’ll talk soon and I love to see your text I’ll talk about some more time and I will talk with him about the weekend I can do you have to your dad to do a lot I’ll talk soon I can talk soon I will be sure you guys get it to get some food and I’ll talk about you soon I know you’re a great guy but you some people who wants a little more money or not like that I’ll be there I’ll talk soon and get some stuff done and get some food and I’ll get ya food I’ll be home soon I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get you some food and I’ll get ya food I’ll eat some more and get you some food and I’ll get you food and I’ll be home I’ll talk about some more stuff soon.

I recently cancelled a pro-subscription on June 2nd because I was not being able to use the subscription despite me paying for it.

Either way, I called Zoom’s billing department five times in the past 1 3/4 months in regards to this matter and still haven’t received a full and proper resolution. At first I called to let the billing service know that I could not use the product, but they failed to assist me. Then I called again and they failed to assist again me. Then I called to let them know that I would be setting up a dispute with my bank, and I ultimately did. For some reason, the dispute is still ongoing, even though Zoom supposedly acknowledged its wrongdoing and the bank gave me a provisional credit, but it will only be deposited for good once this dispute is resolved.

On top of that, I have received several emails from your company this past month indicating that they have failed to withdraw money from my credit card to pay for service in June. The reason for that is because my credit card amount has been all tapped out, but I will get back to this fact in a second. When I called back this past week, I was told that I was not in fact speaking with the billing department, but the answering service, and that I could not speak directly with the billing department. Needless to say, I find their customer service to be unorganized, abysmal, disgraceful, and unprofessional to the most repugnant degree imaginable.

I have put in at least 7 hours of time on hold, on the phone with Zoom, on the phone with my bank, typing up dispute documents to my bank, typing up emails to Zoom team members (including you), and not to mention experiencing the undue aggravation and anxiety that this matter has caused. On top of that, I have been waiting for roughly a month to pay off of much of my credit card statement, but the only reason why I have not done so yet is because I am concerned that Zoom is going to charge me for a month of service once I make a payment and supposedly open up my account to allow that. And now my credit score is at risk because my bank’s collection department is also failing to honor my request to defer my payments, which I am only doing because of this ongoing dispute.

Going forward, the only times I will use this service is from September through November, only because one of my seasonal employers use them for meetings. The product indeed has the great features that everyone says like a chat box, the ability to mute and unmute audio and video, and of course my favorite feature screen sharing. Unfortunately I am so disgusted with the incompetence on display with the company that I am forced to write this review. The only reason why my score is not lower is because I cannot give 1.5/5 stars.

I started using Zoom in March like a lot of other people in the country. I had a great deal of concern about how I was going to be able to stay sober when the Pandemic hit, and everything closed down. I am an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous, and I rely on AA meetings every week to help me stay sober. When they closed our local Alano Club, I felt a visceral terror rise up from my gut when I thought about how long I would be kept from going to meetings! I was scared for my sobriety, my sanity, and my life.

Thank God, for Zoom! When I learned AA meetings were going to be held online, I felt such a sense of relief. I am rather clumsy when it comes to computers, but I learned how to use Zoom very quickly. The more meetings I attended via Zoom, the more comfortable I became using it.
The connection is so amazing and the audio so clear, I couldn’t believe it! I also couldn’t believe it was free! Now, let me preface the rest of my review by saying if you have crappy internet service, Zoom will not seem “amazing” to you. As much as I have had to rely on Zoom for AA meetings, family chats, and work; I can honestly tell you it’s totally worth upgrading your internet to have this app work at its full potential.

In one of the darkest times this world has ever seen, Zoom gave us, hope, connection, and a sense of love and belonging. I often share with my friends, colleagues, and patients that, “Zoom saved my life!” Without AA meetings, the chances of me staying sober are slim to none. And for me, to drink is to die.

Zoom gave me a way to connect with recovering alcoholics all over the world! And, what did you say? It’s free ?!?!?!?!? Thanks to the technology of Zoom, I have attended meetings in Australia, the UK, France, Spain, California, Las Vegas, Texas, Illinois, Ireland, and Dubai. I have formed wonderful friendships with people I otherwise would never have met. I go to a meeting every day, and often I go to two! That wasn’t possible when I could only go to in person meetings. My AA program has never been stronger than it is at this moment.

In closing, I would like to take a moment to recognize what a gift Zoom has given to the world! I think without it we would’ve lost many more lives. People who died of loneliness, isolation, untreated mental health issues, broken hearts, the list goes on. I believe in my heart of hearts that Zoom saved my life. If I had been left with no way to attend meetings, to sponsor other women, to grieve with my family, or to laugh with my little grandson, I surely would have picked up a drink.

Because Zoom gave this gift to all of us, I get to live! Thank you to everyone who works for Zoom, especially the custodians! I will always, always, always think of Zoom with a grateful heart. ❤️

I enjoy the Zoom app around 75 percent of the time; however, there is a big probromatic bug that needs to perminently get squashed in less Zoom doesn’t want to hear the end of it from blindness advocasy orgunizations such as the National Federation of the Blind. I’m a Voice Over user which literly means that I’m blind and require software that sees my screen for me, then discribes whatever I’m touching on my iphone screen. Every two or three months, the Zoom meeting controls and tabs are rendered compleetly inaccessible to my screen reader; and by extention, by me as well. This literarly means that my screen reader can’t see the controls at all any more than I ccan. So, when both my screen reader and I are both as blind as a bat, I literarly can’t use any of the controls during meetings. Mind you! My meetings are my actual college classes themselves so therefore, while in Spanish class, or any other class, I’m not able to mute my microphone, unmute my microphone, access the chat to explain to my teachers why no one can hear me, or even, get unmuted when required by any of my teachers because their unmute feature doesn’t work on their end. This means, that in less I’m unmuted the whole time during my classes, I can’t partisipate a all! Even worse, my Spanish class requires me total control of the mute button at all times because my computer also has software that sees and discribes my computer’s screen as well. So, if I dared to use my computer during Spanish class which is actually required in every single class period, everyone else can hear my computer too. This means, that my teacher has to mute me and without her ability to unmute me, and without the ability to access the chat, I’m not able to continue in my class period. I have to meet up with my teacher outside of class just to get any information I have missed in class. I’ve put up the 3 star rating because this bug prevents me from being able to fully attend meetings relayably and responsably. Mind you, the “Always show meeting controls” setting in “Settings” is already turned on and it’s suposed to put an end to this technology bug. I can’t even complain to my school’s technical department because it’s on Zoom, not my school’s website. This bug needs to be gone right now! I can’t attend school with it here! I honestly never want to ever see this bug ever again! Unfortuently, I also can’t run to other confrencing apps because my school uses Zoom, not Google Meets. So, please kill this bug today and your rating will rise. It will go down farther if it’s not killed today. This negatively impacts my ability to stay in school for the remainder of term in less it’s squashed ASAP. So, as I said above, here is a dangerous technical bug because it renders blind users unable to attend meetings and fully pertisipate in both classes and job appointments.

You should post a ever lasting timers so that we can have more fun with our friends thank you✅fgftgvvbhbhbhghghghghhgvg gghbhbhbghbghbgghvbgygygyggo have fun day and then you cannot is a little more than I do and then you don’t have a good day to work but I’m cool I want it I know I don’t mean mean it I don’t know ‍♂️ I mean mean I cannot I want to do you mean I don’t know ‍♂️ was fun and you know what you want me and then we get things to go through that we cannot was the day you were in my house is a cool day I mean you don’t know you know how you mean mean things like that I’m not going through that I’m not mean I cannot is a cool then you don’t know me but you mean you cannot was the way we can be better than I mean I can be cool I don’t mean mean it I don’t know I want you know I don’t mean mean you can be cool I know that you cannot was the way we can be friends we can be a little more like that I cannot I don’t want it I mean you can be cool I don’t mean mean you can be cool I cannot I don’t want it and you know you mean you cannot I cannot cannot I was so happy I know that I’m a lot more to you do things I don’t want you know I don’t mean mean you can be a lot of it I mean I can be a cool right but you don’t have a little mean mean things you mean you cannot was the day I don’t have a little time you cannot is a little mean I cannot is the way you cannot was the way you want to do you mean you cannot is a cool then you don’t know me and then get you better than you cannot was the way we were you know what it mean and I cannot I know I don’t mean you can be cool I don’t mean mean you can be cool I cannot I don’t want it and you know you mean you cannot was the day I don’t have a little money I want it I want more than that you know you don’t know you cannot was the day we get home I want it I know I don’t mean mean it I don’t know I mean it was mean I cannot is a good night day I can not have been more of the more I know you don’t want me you can get me you can I don’t mean you can be a cool but I’m cool I want it and you can do better but I’m cool I want it I know I don’t mean mean it I don’t know ‍♂️ I mean it but I don’t mean mean it but I don’t mean to mean things to do it I don’t know ‍♂️ I cannot I don’t know ‍♂️ I want you know I don’t mean you can be a cool and I cannot I know I don’t mean mean it I don’t know ‍♂️ I mean it but I don’t mean you can be cool I cannot I don’t want it and you know I don’t mean mean it I don’t know ‍♂️ I mean mean I cannot I want to know how to you I mean I can be cool I don’t mean mean you can be cool I cannot I don’t mean things but don’t want it I mean I can be a lot of cool is that cool I love you mean I can be better then I cannot I want to know how you cannot is a cool was that a cool day was the best

So ummm I’m like title bearing now. It’s awesome being a hood-booger-band-title exam fail band-band-band-need to be on the sista wives list band-as long as I keep quite and act like I don’t know band. Begged for money from my friends band-but she made me jealous because she was being nice to me and had money when I was on PA band-the hardware store band and I was always crying for advise sad band. I thought to myself band-I’ll fix her band I’ll gain her trust and betray it band. I’ll give her guy the I band-since I know he’s giving everybody else his band. She won’t know the difference band I’ll just keep being her friend band. I love living on fantasy Island band-I can zoom in make up my own fake land and pretend I’m full of integrity while I’m Master manipulating religions-band. I’ll keep getting closer to her band-then tell her man band everything she’s doing band. I’ll even hack into her system bands-since I’m a trickster band- it’s so funny band-I’ll just play with his mind since I can’t do it to the Africans band-the ones I truly love but the know I’m coo-coo-for coca puffs band. So I’ll settle for company band and keep turning him against her band. I’ll keep all her texts band-erase mine band-especially the the father and the son I was messing with band-so glad my friend that I was a real one and erased them band-like when I was sending her pics of their privates band. Friends, they’re so silly band-believing that there class within band-more like Saturday school band- or the guy with the suv-band-Wait wait wait band- IM LOYAL band-I need to keep this man band-well when he’s available band-and not trying to get back with my friend band. I like manipulating him band-it’s easy band. I’m going to sub in her position band and make trouble at her job band-for two weeks band- but it back fired band and once again from one school I was fight BAND me to A college I was clowning around and not being the person I almost fooled my friend that I was BAND-and her it is got BAND again. I didn’t do anything wrong BAND-Just sabotaging a friend once again BAND. You know my TITLE BAND-Trick band can. I hid staff files too there band-and had special ppl spinning on the floorBand. It took staff a month to help him overcome that behavior so he could settle down and do work in his seat BAND. I was starting trouble with other staff members from other sites band. They had enough of the shenanigans BAND. So those years of staying home going to local schools that where almost BAND for money in exchange for diplomas BAND I finally got a special peoples gig Band. I just want to be acknowledged for ALL of this, in my Whitley (different world I live in voice). Forget what I’ve done it was nothing I’m betterrrrrr than the others I’m betterrrrrr did you her me? Notice me please I’ll stalk you foreverrrrrrrr I have to be betterrrrrrrrr. My friend thought I was done band. I hacked into her apps band-because I’m a take overrrrrrrrr Band acknowledge meeeeee Band. I went to the gym she was attending and joined BAND. He tried to get back with her that same day leaving messages with his friends BAND. How dare he. I’ve worked to hard Band scheming and being conniving Band-taking him on trips BAND. I had to do something to stop him BAND. I fooled him though I turned envy to LOYALTY! BAND. So I’ll keep stalking her until I’m REALLY as happy as I say I am with all the things I can finally buy...ACKNOWLEDGE MEEEEEEEEE! BAND! Love ZOOM...

[DETAILS]
Zoom at Kernel details basic run:
{"app_name":"Zoom","timestamp":"[protected]:17:19.00 -0600","app_version":"5.5.1","slice_uuid":"85aa7883-6f29-38cc-b086-937e886b96ce","adam_id":[protected],"build_version":"12484.0202","platform":2,"bundleID":"us.zoom.videomeetings","share_with_app_devs":1,"is_first_party":0,"bug_type":"109","os_version":"iPhone OS 14.4 (18D52)","incident_id":"A9ACFC11-0476-449D-B7F0-1E8E74DDCDE2","name":"Zoom"}
Incident Identifier: A9ACFC11-0476-449D-B7F0-1E8E74DDCDE2
CrashReporter Key: 602afa5d0730b8dd66a553c0df610b4a8b33cb04
Hardware Model: iPad6,4
Process: Zoom [579]
Path: /private/var/containers/Bundle/Application/[protected]-E158-404D-8B57-B6AF9A4816B6/Zoom.app/Zoom
Identifier: us.zoom.videomeetings
Version: 12484.0202 (5.5.1)
AppStoreTools: 12D4d
AppVariant: 1:iPad6,4:13
Code Type: ARM-64 (Native)
Role: Foreground
Parent Process: launchd [1]
Coalition: us.zoom.videomeetings [558]

Date/Time: [protected]:17:18.[protected]
Launch Time: [protected]:03:04.[protected]
OS Version: iPhone OS 14.4 (18D52)
Release Type: User
Baseband Version: 8.40.01
Report Version: 104

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Subtype: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x000000000000003c
VM Region Info: 0x3c is not in any region. Bytes before following region: [protected]
REGION TYPE START - END [ VSIZE] PRT/MAX SHRMOD REGION DETAIL
UNUSED SPACE AT START
--->
__TEXT 10212c000-[protected] [ 144K] r-x/r-x SM=COW ...Zoom.app/Zoom

Termination Signal: Segmentation fault: 11
Termination Reason: Namespace SIGNAL, Code 0xb
Terminating Process: exc handler [579]
Triggered by Thread: 0

Thread 0 name: Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
Thread 0 Crashed:
0 CoreGraphics 0x000000019991ada0 0x199724000 + 2059680
1 CoreGraphics 0x000000019991c0d0 0x199724000 + 2064592
2 CoreGraphics 0x000000019991c0d0 0x199724000 + 2064592
3 CoreGraphics 0x0000000199906f30 0x199724000 + 1978160
4 WebKit 0x00000001a3e31bf0 0x1a3bed000 + 2378736
5 WebKit 0x00000001a3e70634 0x1a3bed000 + 2635316
6 WebKit 0x00000001a3e2ae5c 0x1a3bed000 + 2350684
7 WebKit 0x00000001a3f006f0 0x1a3bed000 + 3225328
8 WebKit 0x00000001a3efb6c8 0x1a3bed000 + 3204808
9 WebKit 0x00000001a3c8ae58 0x1a3bed000 + 646744
10 WebKit 0x00000001a3c3966c 0x1a3bed000 + 312940
11 WebKit 0x00000001a3f47584 0x1a3bed000 + 3515780
12 WebKit 0x00000001a3c1d218 0x1a3bed000 + 197144
13 WebKit 0x00000001a3c1cb5c 0x1a3bed000 + 195420
14 JavaScriptCore 0x00000001a1a8bbcc 0x1a0cc5000 + [protected]
15 JavaScriptCore 0x00000001a1a8c718 0x1a0cc5000 + [protected]
16 CoreFoundation 0x0000000197ef7bf0 0x197e5d000 + 633840
17 CoreFoundation 0x0000000197ef7af0 0x197e5d000 + 633584
18 CoreFoundation 0x0000000197ef6e38 0x197e5d000 + 630328
19 CoreFoundation 0x0000000197ef13e0 0x197e5d000 + 607200
20 CoreFoundation 0x0000000197ef0ba0 0x197e5d000 + 605088
21 GraphicsServices 0x00000001aec59598 0x1aec56000 + 13720
22 UIKitCore 0x000000019a7e22f4 0x199cb4000 + [protected]
23 UIKitCore 0x000000019a7e7874 0x199cb4000 + [protected]
24 Zoom 0x0000000102152a84 0x10212c000 + 158340
25 libdyld.dylib 0x0000000197bcf568 0x197bce000 + 5480
[DETAILS_END]

Zoom charged me extra on my subscription. I've raised ticket# *** and now ticket #***. I haven't yet heard back from zoom despite me continuously trying to get in touch with them for the past 1 week.

As a desktop app I like Zoom much more than Skype but the IPhone version needs a lot of work. I have had several business calls go nowhere when trying to use it. Now at point where I avoid Zoom if the conf call is not from desktop and advising coworkers the same.

For the developers:
1. App seems to connect to call if there are other apps on phone open that also use audio like Amazon Prime music.
2. Does not like Bluetooth components like AirPods. You hear nothing but others can hear you.
3. There are too many steps and choices to get into a meeting. If I am in a car I need to pull over. The process should be one tap and then in.
4. Buttons too small on screen. Use the full real estate of the screen.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a really nice app for zoom on iPad. But when you want to do a little bit more it’s not the best. My 2 major problems.

1. Doesn’t have split view. I do need to see other files or take notes, or connect to my remote desktop while on a call... and the only option to mute unmute or see the attendees is to have this app full screen... it’s zoom app or nothing. this is not a pro feature...

2. I have to use my BT phones wired while on a call, otherwise it freaks out the BT keyboard. This might be an Apple issue, but a growing company like Zoom might have something to say to Apple.

Bonus: Any way you can take control over the play/pause button to use it as mute/unmute?

Otherwise, a great and stable app.

Zoom a fishing app used by some unknown Cloud to fish for personal information unknown App use or application scary sign up and use of privacy,

Certainly we can fo an update to this Review,
It would have been helpful if Zoom had made it clear to all users who download the App, that the Login was a simple fishing expedition for personal Data, taking us to the EU-Law site to sign up for Zoom Use privacy,
However after collecting your name, email address, and location, it Asked for your Organization, there was no None option or Other option to select, and of course Zoom rejected the request,
Any App that difficult to install, and make private, should immediately send up red flags, If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is, end of review

Stop sending user data to Facebook. Such a trash company.

Edit based on dev response:

Guys, you have critical flaws in your software and keep slapping band aids on them while our data gets exposed. If you cared about privacy and security this wouldn’t be an issue. There is no end to end encryption - in 2020 that’s a huge fail. Zoom accounts are currently being sold on the dark web. Webcam vulnerabilities persist. You’re getting banned left and right by institutions that understand technology. You’re facing multiple class action law suits. You’ve got sItting US senators asking for an FTC investigation. All we get as consumers is apologies. Stop apologizing and understand that security and privacy are core tenants or they aren’t. Clearly they aren’t at Zoom.

So I created an video chat meeting and invited 3 people for a noon appointment. Five minutes before the meeting I tried to log on as the host by clicking the web link. The link brought me to sign in page which had option for signing in through Zoom, google, Facebook. I am a CSU grad student so all of this was done in the university portal by selecting the zoom icon. The zoom icon red erected me to download the software. I clicked on the app and it asked for a login. So I tried both my student email and personal email but to no avail. So basically I signed in through my personal email and reschedule an appointment and re-emailed the new appointment link. Everyone was able to access the new link either by phone or video chat. Had to set up an entirely new link again.

For days my account will not sign in , producing an error code unknown to Zooms Customer Service Staff on the phone. Self help discusses performing tasks within account settings - hard to do when account is disabled. No email sent to email on file to explain. Just silence and no regard by Google% it is time this promising application be sent to the garbage Pitt to take its plac3 among the countless applications Google acquired and then devouted its full energy to causing that product to deteriorate until it will e just some frustrating experience. Dead end worthless support -such disrespect they won’t even explain why my account is disabled.the perfect closing chapter to a scary book that wasn’t supposed to be a true tradgedy. Good riddance Zoom, sooner than later be nice.

I wanted a good app to allow for a group of friends (and collogues) to play D&D virtually during the Covid-19 outbreak. I use zoom on my PC at work and like it and the support, but the iOS app is garbage if you need other windows to manage the conversation. I don’t mean sharing other windows, as that works fine. The app will not let you split screen with other apps on an iPad pro. And if you use the curtain feature to hang another app, zoom drops your audio and video. It is not an iOS problem either. Since our last zoom campaign, I tested and was able to do split screen with every other virtual video conferencing system I have tried on my iPad without issue. This problem is isolated to zoom. If you need tools or a second window to help manage your meeting and you are using an iPad, don’t waste your time with zoom.

UPDATE: The developer responded and has made positive efforts to remove its malicious feature. But this only happened after the company got caught.

The root of the problem is a company culture that would even dream of such a malicious feature, then build it, then actually roll it out to its users thinking this was a good idea.

This immediate fix is a necessary band aid for a symptom. But the root cause is still far more problematic.

- - - - -

Zoom was an interesting app and service for a little while. But after blatantly subverting essential security protections for our data, deliberately leaving our devices open to attack, and not telling anyone for months (or who knows how long?), there’s no way this company deserves an ounce of anyone’s trust.

There are better and more respectful alternatives. Consider those instead.

Over 500K customers huh? Is that how many people downloaded the app and then uninstalled due to it restarting their phone or iPad or whatever device they are using, also, it not functioning right, crashing, making other apps crash while you try to present, etc? Also, if over 500K customers use it business-wise, why are there barely any ratings? I have a pretty good idea as to why there is less than 1K reviews. They were of the truth. Please do not waste your time with this app. Keep searching, because if you use this app, your device will most likely have some issues after using it.

Personal Experience: I downloaded this app yesterday to confer with some friends and they experienced issues with it, as well as I did. I experienced the issues above and they did as well. So, nice app if you’re looking for your device to be messed with by this app.

I’m forced to use this horrible app for group guitar lessons 3 days a week. Last night yet again we had more issues with sound being overly compressed,.. thin, tinny and drop outs.

⅓ the bandwidth of a lower quality MP3 is absolutely unacceptable. Tens of Thousands of users for the largest online guitar video instruction site, and Zoom refuses to address this issue. I think it’s time other vendors get an RFP, i have no qualms recommending alternatives.

At a minimum Zoom devs could do themselves and their business a big favor by supporting Audiobus, AU Units (available on iOS and Mac)

This would allow apps created with quality audio in mind to process it to the users discretions and patch quality audio tight into Zoom to be streamed. It might even address synchronization issues by offloading processing to external apps rather than forcing us to use device level audio or severely clip high bandwidth professional microphone audio.

Zoom has deleted my account for so called violation of policy or use. I sent correspondence and have yet to get any response. I asked for some sort of evidence or proof and from what source(s) it was obtained. All contacts and files chat room history and information on the account is inaccessible and I assume has been deleted. This is an arbitrary way of cleaning up their act I suppose, however after reading the policy and rules of use I have to disagree with their findings until shown proof of exactly what violation and what rule. Where did they obtain it. Were my personal files and information reviewed? Is there any necessary permissions I gave when signing up and agreeing to said policy? Apparently this company or app developer can pick and choose freedom of choice speech and expression as they see fit and are going about forcing a standard or self interpreted level of freedom on their customers. Who do actually pay to use the app/site! Let’s see if I’ll get a response!

Their response - "We take our users’ privacy extremely seriously, and we’ve taken action to address this issue”.

Translation - we got busted being shady so we’ll correct until people forget and we’ll accidentally do it again in a future update. .

Had this for work and deleted as soon as I read this. Will never use or trust them again.

The discovery was made by Motherboard and confirmed by iOS security researcher Will Strafach.

Upon downloading and opening the app, Zoom connects to Facebook’s Graph API, according to Motherboard’s analysis of the app’s network activity. The Graph API is the main way developers get data in or out of Facebook […]

Zoom is not forthcoming with the data collection or the transfer of it to Facebook. Zoom’s policy says the company may collect user’s “Facebook profile information (when you use Facebook to log-in to our Products or to create an account for our Products),” but doesn’t explicitly mention anything about sending data to Facebook on Zoom users who don’t have a Facebook account at all.

I have tried repeatedly to contact customer service to get questions about my account and have had no success. While I understand COVID is a real thing, this company is one of the biggest profiteers from it—with a whole new set of paid accounts, the customer service should match. Other tech companies just let you sit on hold, which I’d be willing to do, to talk to someone. Instead, Zoom hangs up on you over and over again.

I have been a zoom user for a while, and find it a necessary and functional app—sadly the human part of it is very lacking and their online customer service bot can’t answer anything beyond what most anyone could find for themselves.

To add insult to injury, for a special nonprofit event we had contact with a Zoom rep who said they would help us make it happen. After a flurry of contact, nothing. Multiple emails and just no response. At least have the decency to respond and say you’re not willing to help. So disappointing. Costs them nothing, and would have meant the world to us.

These are times to go the extra mile—and while offering free limited service was really nice, what about helping your paying customers as well?

Current annoyance: regular phone calls will let me connect with AirPods on the fly, but zoom calls won’t? That’s just sloppy.

Previous review is still relevant:

I hate that I can’t disable notifications for certain times of the day. I use Zoom for work, not socializing, and I hate having to remember to log in and log out every day or else risk non-urgent client calls late at night or on the weekends. I also hate that Zoom requires so much bandwidth for voice calls, and has such a long lag during conversations. I can use competitors’ VOIP apps without lag from the same physical location/bandwidth, but zoom call quality is AWFUL. If you have excellent very high speed internet, it does the job, but for those of us in rural areas or relying on cellular data, we aren’t a priority for Zoom Inc. And what’s up with the lack of text messaging/SMS? We pay for zoom phone service and there’s no texting beyond the internal extensions? IT’S 2020: WHY ISN'T THIS A THING? There’s also a super annoying bug with Grasshopper: I use Zoom for one job and I use Grasshopper for another. After making a Zoom call, if I receive a Grasshopper call while still logged into the zoom app, it shows up as a Zoom call, and then disconnects as soon as I pick up. Then I’ve missed a call for my second job because my first job’s phone service is buggy. I AM DISAPPOINTED, ZOOM.