Thousands of Zoom calls left exposed on open web
Thousands of personal Zoom videos have been left viewable on the open web, highlighting the privacy risks to millions of Americans as they shift many of their personal interactions to video calls in an age of social distancing.
Many of the videos appear to have been recorded through Zoom’s software and saved onto online storage space without a password. But because Zoom names every video recording in an identical way, a simple online search can reveal a long stream of videos that anyone can download and watch.
Zoom videos are not recorded by default, though call hosts can choose to save them to Zoom servers or their own computers. There’s no indication that livestreamed videos or videos saved onto Zoom’s servers are publicly visible.
But many participants in Zoom calls may be surprised to find their faces, voices and personal information explosed because a call host can record a large group call without participants’ knowledge or consent. The Washington Post is not revealing the naming convention that Zoom uses, and Zoom was alerted to the issue before this story was published.
The discovery that the videos are available on the open Web adds to a string of Zoom privacy concerns that have come to public attention as the service became the preferred alternative for American work, school and social life.
The company reached more than 200 million daily users last month, up from 10 million in December, as people turned on their
cameras for Zoom weddings, funerals and happy hours at a time when faceto-face gatherings are discouraged or banned.
Zoom said in a statement that it “provides a safe and secure way for hosts to store recordings” and provides guides for how users can enhance their call security.
Videos viewed by The Washington Post included one-on-one therapy sessions; a training orientation for workers doing telehealth calls, which included people’s names and phone numbers; small-business meetings, which included private company financial statements; and elementary-school classes, in which children’s faces, voices and personal details were exposed.
Many of the videos include personally identifiable information and deeply intimate conversations, recorded in people’s homes. Other videos include nudity, such as one in which an aesthetician teaches students how to give a Brazilian wax.