Zoom introduces global improvements around personal data privacy

Ensuring privacy is critical to users' trust in technology companies. You want to use digital technologies knowing that your personal data is safe. Zoom's privacy, product and technical teams have therefore focused on developing easy-to-use and scalable solutions that allow users to set their own data and privacy preferences. Starting today, you'll have access to a suite of tools and features that give you greater insight and control over your own data.

Wat houden de wijzigingen in?

• Data storage within the EEA: paying customers within the European Economic Area (EEA) can choose to have their data for meetings, webinars and Team Chats physically stored within the EEA from now on. This data will only be shared with Zoom teams in the US, such as the Zoom Trust & Safety team, on an individual basis and exceptionally.
• European Support Team: Zoom has established a support team within Europe. Users can now receive technical support during business hours from support staff in the EU if they have signed up for it. All information is then processed within the EEA.
• Inspection and deletion requests: Zoom has developed a tool that allows administrators to easily fulfill inspection and or deletion requests from its users. This applies to Zoom meetings, webinars and team chat. This tool is an aid to AVG compliance.
• Marketing preference center: users can opt in or out of all Zoom marketing communications and newsletters with a single click.
• Audit log tracking: audit logs record the specific actions administrators perform on behalf of users. Account owners and administrators now have the ability to track when these logs are exported or deleted.
• Retention policies: users gain greater visibility into Zoom's retention and deletion policies, and the actions Zoom takes to ensure compliance.

“We are proud to offer these privacy updates to our customers,” said Lynn Haaland, Chief Compliance, Ethics and Privacy Officer at Zoom. “These new tools give our European users more control over where their data is processed and stored. In addition, you have the ability to delete personal data. Institutions can choose us knowing they have a vendor committed to protecting their data.”

Collaboration is key

Zoom's new privacy features were developed as part of its close relationship with SURF, the collaborative organization for ict in Dutch education and research. This collaboration began in 2021 following a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA). As a result, Zoom is making great strides in terms of privacy for its users; many of these new features are a direct result of this close collaboration.

“We are pleased with the changes Zoom has made to its software as a result of our collaboration,” said Jet de Ranitz, CEO and chair of SURF's board of directors. “With the new privacy features and recent modifications, they have shown that European privacy standards are very important to them. We are very pleased with the result and the positive benefits for European users.”

Where can you find the settings?

Zoom's new tools for data subject access requests and data deletion are available within the Zoom web portal under “Privacy. The marketing preference center and European technical support can be accessed through the support page. Zoom, in the Zoom Privacy Center, has begun rolling out EEA-level data retention for paying customers within the EEA. Policies around data retention and deletion can be found in the privacy sheet.

More details on Zoom's approach to privacy and security can be found in the Zoom Trust Center.