INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Zoom's video calling service has been available for a while now but the unprecedented number of people working from home during the
coronavirus pandemic has skyrocketed the app's popularity.However, research conducted by Vice's tech branch, Motherboard, has revealed
that Zoom's iOS app has been secretly sharing analytical data with Facebook, even if the user doesn't have an account on the social media
platform.The data being shared includes time the app is launched, device and location information, phone carrier, and analytical data that
can be used to create targeted ads.Too much informationThe reason Zoom is able to share user data with Facebook, even if there's no linked
social media account, is because the video calling app uses Facebook's software development kits (SDKs)
So, when Zoom is downloaded and launched, it immediately connects to the Facebook Graph API.This is not a new practice: developers have long
used Facebook SDKs to add features to their apps, although Facebook's terms of use require app makers to inform users of these data
sharing practices.While Zoom's privacy policy mentions that the app may collect data related to a user's Facebook profile which may then
In 2019, a security researcher unearthed a bug that allowed webcams of Zoom users to be hacked without their knowledge, although the company
has said that the issue has been resolved.Other recent news related to video chat security involves a man exposing himself in front of
children on a video call after he was able to "guess" the link to the call
While this was not on a Zoom call (instead on an app called Whereby), TechCrunch reported last year that it was possible to hijack a Zoom
meeting by "cycling through different permutations of meeting IDs in bulk"
This was possible as the meetings weren't protected by a passcode.The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recently explained how a host on
a Zoom call can monitor the activities of participants while screen-sharing
If users record the video call, then Zoom administrators are able to "access the contents of that recorded call, including video, audio,
transcript, and chat files, as well as access to sharing, analytics, and cloud management privileges".While the old security issues have
since been resolved by Zoom, this new discovery highlights how simple technological solutions can sometimes come at the cost of privacy.
