Zoom Launches New Safety Feature to Curb Zoombombers

Zoom announced in a blog post that it will now allow you to temporarily pause meetings so that you will be able to kick out "Zoombombers" or disruptive individuals.

As Zoom usage increase rapidly during the pandemic, pranksters and hackers found ways to attack Zoom calls and display shocking video and disruptive content, a practice known as "Zoombombing." With Zoom's latest security feature, you will be able to suspend a meeting to prevent incorrect content from being displayed, and you will also be able to report the Zoombomber to Zoom.

To suspend a meeting, click on the security icon during a call and then click on "Suspend Participant Activities." When you do, all video, audio, meeting chat, annotations, screen sharing, and recording will be suspended, and all meeting rooms will end, which should shut down Zoombomber activity. From there, Zoom will ask the host if they want to report a user, and if they do, that user will be kicked out of the meeting, and the Zoom security team will be notified.

The latest feature is enabled by default for all free and paid users and is available in Zoom clients for Mac, PC, and Linux, as well as Zoom mobile apps, says Zoom. Few users observed that they were unable to see the Zoom feature on their work MacBook Pro, but it is suspected that it might be due to the IT setup.

In April, Zoom announced a 90-day feature freeze to address privacy and security issues on the platform that came to light after the massive surge in users who trusted it during the pandemic. Many of the enhancements resulting from Zoom, such as enabling waiting rooms by default for Basic, Pro single license, and Education accounts, could help make it harder for zoombombers to gain access to meetings.