Zoom Does Not Actually Support E2E Encryption For Video Meetings

Despite what stated on its website, Zoom does not support end-to-end encryption for video meetings, according to new research from The Intercept.

Zoom is on fire. Not one of my friends has managed to escape having at least one work meeting on the platform. And I am not even going to talk about how many happy hours and dance parties have taken place on Zoom over the last few weeks. And there are good reasons why Zoom has suddenly become the platform of choice for us all. However, that should never be because it offers end-to-end encryption. Because it does not.

Zoom does state on its website and in its security white paper that its service supports end-to-end encryption for video meetings. But new research from The Intercept reveals that’s not exactly true. When asked, a Zoom spokesperson said that “Currently, it is not possible to enable E2E encryption for Zoom video meetings.”

Zoom does use TLS. That means that data is encrypted between you and Zoom’s servers like it is the case for Gmail or Facebook. But the platforms can still access your data and the content you are sharing. On the contrary, E2E encryption refers to protecting the content between users and with no company access at all.

Zoom both confirmed and denied the claim from The Intercept as it explained: “When we use the phrase ‘End to End’ in our other literature, it is in reference to the connection being encrypted from Zoom endpoint to Zoom endpoint,” and that “content is not decrypted as it transfers across the Zoom cloud.”

Zoom’s in-meeting text chat does appear to support E2E; Zoom said it does not have the keys to decrypt those messages.