Zoom Meeting Privacy Options

If someone uninvited joins your meeting

There are several ways to avoid unwanted guests. The following information provides suggested settings for creating a private Zoom session and steps you can take to reduce the possibility of unwelcome guests joining your meeting.

Password Protect Your Meetings

Disable “Join Before Host”

Disable “Share Screen” for Participants/Students

Remove Zoom Meeting Participants

Lock Your Session

Use the Waiting Room

Utilize the Security Shield Features - added 4/8/2020

Password Protect Your Meetings 

Requiring a password to access a Zoom session is a straightforward way to increase the security of your meeting. You can send your chosen password to your attendees via email or chat, but be sure to remind them not to share the password with others.

While scheduling a meeting, under Meeting Options, check Require Meeting Password, and then specify a strong password. Participants will be asked for this password in order to join your meeting.

Disable “Join Before Host”

The join before host option can be convenient for allowing attendees to carry on with a meeting the host is not able to start. However, with this option enabled, the first attendee who joins the meeting will be made the host automatically with full control over the meeting. If you are scheduling a meeting where sensitive information will be discussed, we recommend leaving this option disabled.

When scheduling a meeting, under Advanced Options, make sure Enable join before host is NOT checked. See Zoom's Join Before Host help page for more information.

Disable “Share Screen” for Participants/Students

The share screen feature allows you to share content with the rest of the meeting participants. This can be useful if you have a slide presentation or video that you want to present as part of your meeting. The default setting allows all meeting participants to share their screens. This may be useful if you want students to show their work. You can change the settings so only the host may share content.

While in a meeting, in the menu bar select the ^(caret) to the right of Share Screen, click Advanced Sharing Options, under Who can share? click Only Host.

For all of your Zoom meetings, go to nyit.zoom.us, sign in (your NYIT credentials), select settings, go to In Meeting (Basic), go to Screen sharing, under Who can share? click Host Only.

Remove Zoom Meeting Participants

If you have already begun a session and find an unwanted attendee(s) has joined:

Click Manage Participants at the bottom of the Zoom window. In the Participants panel, find the person you want to remove from the meeting and click More to the right of their name. From the list that appears, click Remove. The participant is no longer in the Zoom session.

Lock Your Session

You may choose to lock your meeting session once all your attendees have joined using the Zoom Host Controls. When a meeting is locked, no one can join, and the host will NOT be alerted if anyone tries to join.  

Click Manage Participants at the bottom of the Zoom window. Click More at the bottom of the Participants panel. From the list that appears, click Lock Meeting.

Use the Waiting Room

If you enable the Waiting Room feature, then you will have to admit each person to the session individually, which can be onerous for large classes. It’s useful, though, in a situation like office hours, where you want to work with students individually without interruption.

When scheduling a meeting, under Advanced Options, make sure the Enable Waiting Room option is checked.

Utilize the Security Shield Features

On April 8, 2020 Zoom upgraded their security features. Upgrade the app for new in meetings security options for a host or co-host. Once the upgrade is complete, a new security shield icon will appear on the dashboard. Service Central recommends upgrading the app on all your devices.

The Security icon in the meeting controls allows the host or co-host of a meeting to enable or disable options during a meeting to secure the meeting and minimize disruption during the meeting. Visible only to the host or co-hosts, the Security icon combines features all in one place for easy access during the meeting.  Click on the icon to take quick action to prevent disruptions and remove unwanted guests.

Lock Meeting: Locks the meeting, keeping new participants from joining the meeting.

Enable Waiting Room: Enables Waiting Room for incoming new participants or to move current participants into the Waiting Room

Allows participants to:

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“Zoom Meeting Privacy Options” by The University of Iowa Office of Teaching, Learning & Technology is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0