Since the pandemic began, Zoom has become the preferred communication platform for many companies and users. The advantages of adding a large number of people to a meeting, or its numerous additional features, made it take a privileged position in the sector. However there are still details related to user privacy that they still have to work on.
Zoom in macOS has made quite a few users desperate in forums recently due to a possible privacy flaw related to the use of the microphone in the system. And it is that a good number of users affirmed that, after closing a meeting in Zoom, the orange icon that indicates the use of the microphone in macOS does not disappear, implying that it is still active in the background.
Zoom, complete guide: everything about the group video call application for up to 100 people
Zoom and its continuing concerns about user privacy
This is a bug that the company itself has acknowledged in the patch notes for version 5.9.1 on Mac, claiming that the bug was fixed. However, this seemed not to be the case, as there were still users who confirmed the persistence of this problem, reporting that the orange dot only disappeared when the application was completely closed. Although it is not something that should concern us in principle, doubts in users about whether Zoom listens to our conversations are present.
On the left, image of the control panel with an active Zoom call. To the right once finished. [Zoom Ver 5.9.3]
In our tests, we can confirm that the error seems to be resolved, although this is true after the recent update that Zoom has released for the macOS app. Although it was something that was mentioned in the 5.9.1 patch notes, everything indicates that the error does not disappear until you update to 5.9.3.
This bug only occurs in the native app for macOS. If we run Zoom through the browser, the experience is very different. Through the Zoom forums we can see how people continued to have problems with this issue until this past Tuesday. The fact that there is no mention of fixing this bug in the latest patch notes raises doubts among users. Keep in mind that Zoom doesn’t exactly have a good reputation when it comes to privacy. That is why many people tread carefully when they have to use this app.