Zoom
- The policy says your content is not used for AI training.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- The policy describes staff access for safety and legal checks.
Zoom says it does not train AI on your meetings, but takes a broad license, ads cookies, and auto-renewing fees.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, meetings, chats, files, device IDs, usage, contacts, and sometimes partner data.
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Privacy policy
“We may collect, or process on behalf of our customers, the following categories of personal data when you use or interact with Zoom products and services:”
Training
They run the service and ads on the website, and say they do not train AI on your meeting content.
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Privacy policy
“Zoom does not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like Customer Content (such as poll results, whiteboard and reactions) to train Zoom’s or its third-party artificial intelligence models.”
Sharing
Hosts, account owners, other people in the meeting, vendors, ad partners, and apps the host adds can see data.
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Privacy policy
“When you send messages or join meetings and webinars or use other collaborative features on Zoom, other people and organizations, including third parties outside the meeting, webinar, message, or other collaborative features, may be able to see, share, and process content and information that you share:”
Kept
They keep data while you use Zoom; after an account ends you have 30 days to download content.
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Terms of service
“For thirty (30) calendar days following expiration or termination of this Agreement, Zoom will provide you access to retrieve your Customer Content, after which time your Customer Content will be deleted according to applicable Law”
Controls
You can change account data, use cookie settings for ads, .
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Privacy policy
“To opt out of our use of third-party cookies that share data with these partners, visit our cookie management tool, available in Cookies Settings.”
Fine print
Plans auto-renew and fees are usually not refunded.
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Terms of service
“You agree that all payments are non-cancelable for the Initial Subscription Term or the then-current Renewal Term, as applicable, and are final and non-refundable, unless otherwise agreed to by Zoom, required by Law, or set forth in your Order Form.”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Turn off third-party ad cookies
Cookies Settings or Your Privacy Choices on the Zoom homepage (set it on each browser and device)
Cancel auto-renew before the next term
Billing portal if available, or email renewals@zoom.us at least 30 days before the next renewal
or change account data
link in the privacy statement, your Zoom account settings, or privacy@zoom.us
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
You keep ownership of what you put in Zoom, but you give Zoom a lasting right to use it to run the service, follow the privacy policy, follow the law, and for safety.
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Terms of service
“You grant Zoom a , worldwide, non-exclusive, , , and transferable license and all other rights required or necessary for the Permitted Uses.”
For example, even after you leave, Zoom can still use copies of meeting files as needed to provide the service or meet legal duties.
If someone sues Zoom because of how you or your guests used Zoom, you may have to pay Zoom’s legal costs.
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Terms of service
“you agree to , defend, and hold Zoom and its affiliates and each of our licensors and suppliers (“ Parties”) harmless, including any officers, directors, employees, shareholders, members, consultants, and agents of the Parties, from any third party allegation, claim, proceeding, , damage, or cost (including reasonable attorneys’ fees)”
For example, if a guest shares copyrighted video in your meeting and the owner sues Zoom, you might have to cover Zoom’s lawyers.
Paid plans keep charging for the term and they say you usually cannot get money back.
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Terms of service
“You agree that all payments are non-cancelable for the Initial Subscription Term or the then-current Renewal Term, as applicable, and are final and non-refundable, unless otherwise agreed to by Zoom, required by Law, or set forth in your Order Form.”
For example, if you cancel mid-year, they may keep the rest of that year’s fee unless the law or your order says otherwise.
Ad and analytics companies can track how you use Zoom’s website to show targeted ads.
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Privacy policy
“These third-party partners may receive information about your activities on Zoom’s website through third-party cookies and similar technologies placed on Zoom’s website.”
For example, visiting the pricing page can help partners show you Zoom ads on other sites unless you change Cookies Settings.
If you turn on some video or voice features and agree, Zoom can store a map of your face or voice for up to two years after you last use Zoom.
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Privacy policy
“If you elect to enable certain features and you provide the requisite consent, Zoom may process data about your unique physical characteristics, including your facial geometry and /or voiceprint, for the purpose of offering the features.”
For example, a face-based effect could store facial geometry until you stop using it or two years pass.
Zoom says your meeting talk, video, and chat are not used to train its AI or outside AI models.
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Privacy policy
“Zoom does not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like Customer Content (such as poll results, whiteboard and reactions) to train Zoom’s or its third-party artificial intelligence models.”
For example, a private work call should not be fed into a model that writes summaries for everyone else.
Zoom staff say they do not read your meetings unless the host allows it or they need it for law, safety, security, or support.
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Privacy policy
“Zoom employees do not access or use Customer Content including meeting, webinar, messaging, or email content (specifically, audio, video, files, in-meeting whiteboards, messaging, or email contents), or any content generated or shared as part of other collaborative features (such as out-of-meeting whiteboards), unless authorized by the account owner hosting the Zoom product or service where the Customer Content was generated, or as required for legal, safety, security or support purposes.”
For example, a support ticket from your admin could let Zoom look at a recording to fix a problem.
Zoom does not promise the product will always work, be secure, or fit your needs.
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Terms of service
“THE SERVICES AND SOFTWARE ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND ZOOM, ITS AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS, AND LICENSORS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED”
For example, if a meeting drops and you lose a deal, they say they are not responsible beyond the cap.
For big privacy changes they say they will tell you and let you read them before you keep using Zoom.
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Privacy policy
“If we make material changes to this Privacy Statement, we will notify you and provide you an opportunity to review before you choose to continue using our products and services.”
For example, if they start using a new kind of data, they say they will post an update and notify you.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- third parties
- Any company or person other than you and the app, such as advertisers, partners or analytics firms. For example, an analytics company that receives a record of every screen you tap is a third party.
- opt out
- Something is on by default and stays on until you find the setting and turn it off. For example, your chats may be used for training unless you go into settings and switch it off.
- cookies
- Small files a website saves on your device so it can recognise you and remember what you did. For example, a cookie keeps you logged in and can also tell an ad company which sites you visited.
- perpetual
- Lasting forever, with no end date. For example, a perpetual licence means the company can keep using your video years after you leave.
- royalty-free
- The company can use your content without ever paying you for it. For example, your photo can appear in the app's ads and you get nothing.
- sublicensable
- The company can pass its rights over your content on to other companies without asking you. For example, an app can let an advertiser or a partner reuse your video under the licence you gave.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
- affiliates
- Other companies owned by or connected to the same parent company. For example, if you use one app, its sister apps under the same owner may also get your data.
- limitation of liability
- A cap on what the company will ever pay you if something goes wrong, often only what you paid in the last year. For example, if a leak of your data costs you thousands, the most you may get back is a month's subscription fee.
- consent
- Your clear agreement to something, given by an action like ticking a box or tapping Accept. For example, a pop-up asking if the app may use your location is asking for consent.
- biometric
- Measurements of your body that identify you, like your face, fingerprint or voice. For example, a selfie used to unlock the app or a voice recording matched to you.
How we got here · grade A · score 61/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 1 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect more than account and meeting content, including contacts, device IDs, usage such as clicks, website activity, and data from partners.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Meetings can include your voice and image. If you consent to certain features, they may keep facial geometry or a voiceprint until it is no longer needed or two years after you last used Zoom.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
Zoom says it does not use your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments, or similar meeting content to train Zoom or third-party AI models.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Staff say they do not open meeting content unless the host authorizes it or it is needed for legal, safety, security, or support reasons.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
Third-party ad and analytics partners can get website activity through cookies for targeted ads. You can change Cookies Settings.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they do not sell data in the usual sense, but website cookies for ads may count as a sale or share under some state laws, with an opt-out.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership of your content, but you grant Zoom a perpetual, sublicensable license to use it for permitted service, legal, and safety uses.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can change or delete some data in your account and request deletion. After an account ends, they give 30 days to download content, then delete it on their schedule.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They say they use reasonable physical and technical safeguards and will notify you of unauthorized access to customer content. No independent audit is described in these pages.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Zoom says people under 16 cannot sign up, except through a school using Zoom for Education. Age is based on what you say, not a described ID check.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The privacy statement is dated. For material privacy changes they say they will notify you and let you review before you keep using the product.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can end the agreement for any reason with 30 business days’ notice, or immediately if you break the rules. After it ends you have 30 days to download your content.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is “as is,” damages are capped at what you paid in the prior 12 months, and you must cover Zoom’s legal costs for many claims tied to your use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Subscriptions auto-renew unless you give notice in the billing portal or to renewals@zoom.us. They say charges are non-cancelable and non-refundable unless the law or your order says otherwise. Price changes get at least 30 days’ notice.
The privacy policy is 8,145 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 31.7); the terms are 13,499 words at a college graduate level.
