Zoom might be about to get a whole lot of ads

Ads will only be shown at the end of meetings for free users

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Zoomhas revealed its plan to roll out ads to free users of itsvideo conferencing softwarein an effort to support investment and to continue providing free access to its platform.

When employees around the world made the transition toworking from homelast year, the video conferencing service experienced exponential growth as its user base expanded from primarily being made up of enterprise users to include a large volume of individual users.

Now though with organizations implementinghybrid workpolicies, more employees are returning to the office and relying on video calls less often throughout the day. While theage of Zoommay not be over yet, the company is changing its tactics when it comes to free users.

It’s also worth noting that there is still a40-minute limiton the length of group calls for free Zoom users which could entice some people to upgrade to its paid plans.

Pilot advertising program

In a newblog post, chief marketing officer at Zoom, Janine Pelosi explained that the company is rolling out a pilot advertising program targeting its free Basic users.

As part of the new program, ads will be rolled out for free users running Zoom’s video conferencing software in abrowseronce they end their meeting. Only free users in certain countries will see these ads if they join meetings hosted by other Basic users but the company did not specify which countries will be part of its pilot advertising program.

Going forward, free users will see a banner add on Zoom’s website after ending a meeting with a link above the ad recommending they “Upgrade to Remove Ads”. Pelosi also pointed out that the company will not use meeting, webinar or messaging content including audio, video files and messages for any marketing, promotions or third-party advertising purposes.

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While Zoom is bringing ads to its platform for free users of its service, the company is doing so in a way that isn’t obtrusive and likely won’t interfere with the quality of their meetings.

Looking to improve your video calls? Check out thebest video conferencing software,best business webcamsandbest headsets for conference calls

After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.

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