Google bans employees from using Zoom video chat app over privacy and security concerns

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Google has banned video chat app Zoom from its employees' laptops.

The decision was taken because of security and privacy concerns about the way the app works.

It is just the latest major company to stop using the app. While it has surged in popularity since people started to work and study from home under coronavirus lockdowns, those extra users have brought increased scrutiny to the app's many security and privacy failings.

Now Google said that corporate computers will no longer be able to use its app because it is insecure.

"Recently, our security team informed employees using Zoom Desktop Client that it will no longer run on corporate computers as it does not meet our security standards for apps used by our employees," a Google spokesperson said.

Staff will still be able to access the app through its mobile apps and browsers, Google said, but will not be able to install the app on their computers.

Zoom has been criticised for leaking its users' information, making it relatively easy for people to engage in "zoombombing" and crash into meetings, and failing to keep to promises that conversations are end-to-end encrypted to keep them private and secure.

The company has committed to stop all work on new features and focus on its security in the wake of a number of those problems.

Google has its own version of Zoom, in the form of Google Meet. But that app has not taken off quite so much in the wake of lockdowns, and lacks some of the features that make Zoom easier to use.

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