Zoom-bombing became more prevalent as more of the world moved more online. Video-conferencing apps like Meet and Zoom are predictably making moves to stop it.
What you need to know
- Google will now block Zoom-bombing in Meet with a new requirement barring anonymous users.
- The bar applies to meetings hosted by any user with a G Suite Education and G Suite Enterprise for Education licenses.
- Zoom addressed this in version 5.0 a few months ago.
Google Meet is getting an update to tackle the scourge of “Zoom-bombing”. Taking its name from the eponymous video-conferencing app, Zoom-bombing happens when a conference call is joined by often-malicious and unwanted intruders who disrupt the call with inappropriate content. It became a noteworthy topic as much of our social interaction moved online earlier in the year, and Zoom itself has added a security tool to mitigate it.
With this change on Google Meet, any user who is not signed in to a Google account will be restricted from joining Google Meet calls hosted by G Suite Education and G Suite Enterprise for Education license holders. It reduces the potential for unwanted intrusions by introducing friction as well as by forcing users to be identifiable and possibly accountable. Admins can request to disable this feature if they want to, but you’ll need to contact G Suite support first, otherwise, the feature will remain on by default.
“Anonymous users can cause disruption to learning by making noise and sharing content, and become a distraction for the meeting organizer when they try to join meetings,” the G Suite team says.
The new Zoom-bombing blocker is rolling out over the next two weeks,
Google Meet’s new AI-powered noise cancellation is incredibly effective
