Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/03/31/zoom-shares-your-information-w.html
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Wish this article came out a week ago. Just downloaded zoom on recommendation of a friend. Just deleted it too, hopefully not too late!
ETA: is filing suit going to do anything at all? Figured there would be an out in the TOS to send data directly to Satan (no offense boss).
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Yeah, but at least those dudes stuck to their rules, right?
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With any app that allows users to sign in via Google and/or Facebook, I’m gonna assume they are sharing data with those companies. Both are options on the Zoom sign-up page.
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I’m somewhat disgusted that their first response is to delete the Facebook integration. Not even a “hey, we want to justify this to our users because we thought it gave them this value”, it’s just “let’s ditch this shit because it’s bad news, and we look stupid and guilty because we did this.” It definitely comes with a hand-in-the-cookie-jar vibe.
Which immediately becomes the more important question of “If it’s so worthless you can ditch it at the drop of an ugly tweet, why did you ever add this shit in the first place??? How easy is it for you to make bad privacy decisions that affect all of us? What other hidden shit does your software contain that you still aren’t telling us about??”
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This is exactly why I wouldnt download it. That and I think that the company I work for should provide a VTC app (they could afford it).
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I was just talking about all the sweet zoom data that could be used for facial recognition software from the worldwide multigenerational conference calls. Correlate biometric photos to 23 and me and AI knows Bob’s your uncle. It’s just so easy! (I don’t know what I’m talking about)
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My cousin was planning a digital family “meeting” this friday using Zoom.
Now I have no idea what to do- if I skip it because of this, I’m an unsocial ass who worries too much, but if I get it, every reason I deleted Facebook from my life 4 years ago would be undone.
How do I explain this to family members who are old and don’t care because they are all on facebook?
How do I make sense of this to another tech savvy millennial that proposed this platform, and probably doesn’t care either, but should understand and know better?
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If you have a laptop or desktop with a webcam, create a user specifically for running Zoom, and don’t give that user admin privileges.
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What, exactly, are you concerned FB will learn about you?
Not saying your concerns are invalid, I’m just wondering what specifically you find troubling.
(Also, the OP notes the code that sent info to FB has been removed from the app.)
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This is timely. I’ve just learned that my choral director is requiring us to use Zoom to continue (as much as we can) rehearsals, so I was reluctantly going to download it.
If I download the app to my iPad, which I’ve set up to be a total dummy (used to read books, watch movies, and play games while traveling…does anyone remember traveling?) with no email accounts or social media apps, is that enough of a barrier?
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Though I’ve mentioned it on a related post, I’ll toss it in here: there’s an open source alternative called Jitsi that seems to work pretty well.
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But does it interface with Zoom?
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I’m siding with Blake Reid on this issue. Zoom is providing a core service that’s still of good quality, and that literally millions are using and have to use right now. Being an alarmist stop-everything privacy-scold right now ain’t very helpful.
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I don’t know if this helps, but if you’re part of an organization, especially an educational one, which uses GSuite, Google follows (or has to follow, in education) much stricter privacy rules than it does in general. That doesn’t sound like much, given Google’s general Eye of Sauron approach, but for education, it’s pretty good. So Google Meet is viable for people in education, at least. Maybe in other business situations.
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I’m not on the Bookface, but with all the data that’s been gathered about me, I’m sure Bookface has already filled in that me-shaped hole and is working on a me simulator as we speak
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I have to ask, how much is everyone paying for their Zoom apps and meetings?
