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Zoom call misery will be punctuated by ads for free users
In This Article
If you’re not thoroughly sick of Zoom work calls by now, there’s a Sainthood waiting for you with a first class ticket to the pearly gates, when you eventually pop off this mortal coil.
Whether it wasworries about security, thelong absence of end-to-end encryption, whether the company planned tosell you out to the government, having to deal with‘zoombombers’ with their tackle out, or thegeneral fatigue of looking at yourself on the screen all day, this massive change in the way we work hasn’t been ideal for everyone.
Now, here come the advertisements to well-and-truly cement the misery of using this app that’ll always be associated with the pandemic in the same way as that bloody “Thank You Baked Potato,” song by Matt Lucas.
In a blog post, the company said users of the free Basic tier will begin to see advertisements whenever they hang-up a call. So, whether you pay or not, you’re paying for it. Judging by the screenshot below, they won’t be too invasive, thankfully.
“For this initial program, ads will be rolled out only on the browser page users see once they end their meeting. Only free Basic users in certain countries will see these ads if they join meetings that are hosted by other free Basic users,” writes chief marketing officer Janine Pelosi in ablog post.
“We have carefully and thoughtfully considered how to implement this advertising pilot program, and we have done so with the goal of ensuring user choice. Users will see a banner on Zoom’s website that provides a link that takes them to our cookie management tool.”
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How have you adjusted to the Zoom-centric way of working over the last 18 months or so? Are you happy working remotely? Or are you keen to get back to real interactions with colleagues? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He’s based in South Florida, USA. …
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
