Since it’s meteoric rise in early 2020, Zoom has repeatedly come under fire, whether for playing fast and loose with the definition of end-to-end encryption, sharing user data with Facebook undisclosed, installing a hidden web server on customers’ Macs, publishing then back-tracking a claim of 300 million daily active users, or suppressing U.S. calls about Tiananmen Square at China’s behest. Zoom has also had its share of security flaws and vulnerabilities.
The video conference company now has a new scandal on its hands, as macOS users have been reporting that the Zoom app has been listening in on them. These reports started after the macOS Monterey update was released in late October of last year. In the Monterey update, Apple introduced a visual indicator in the Menu Bar to notify users when an application or device is accessing the camera or microphone.
After installing the macOS update, users started noticing this visual indicator when the Zoom app was running, even when there were not ongoing calls. The Zoom app was accessing the microphone while simply running in the background. Zoom Video Communications Inc. released an update on December 27 that supposedly addressed this microphone access issue, but users are still reporting the problem, even after installing the update.
Nathan grew up with computer hardware news and reviews in the family business and eventually joined the business himself in 2014. He initially joined to make video reviews and help with the podcast, but was soon asked if he would write, and he's been writing about computers ever since. More recently, Nathan has developed a passion for internet privacy, security, and decentralization and likes writing about those topics the most. He spends much of his free time tinkering with Linux distributions, custom Android ROMs, privacy and security tools, and self-hosting solutions. He also started gaming on a PC at a young age and still can't give up Unreal Tournament 2004 and Supreme Commander 2. Beyond computers, Nathan is a car enthusiast and philosophy nerd.
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