Hi Net Neighbor!
Welcome to the first of what I hope are many Quick Tips. Quick Tips are quick little tidbits of information. They’re easily digestible and, hopefully, help a little too. This Quick Tip is on Zoom, or more precisely a portion of Zoom that can trip people up; permissions.
If you don’t use Zoom often you might find yourself getting unnerved when your phone or tablet tells you Zoom wants permission to use your camera and audio. It’s a reasonable thing to be worried about, for so long we have been told to not let apps or programs, or really anything, have access to our devices. So many crime shows warn against this very thing. And while I do not want you to throw caution to the wind, for today’s Corner Tip I would like to promote a little more trust.
Zoom is not asking for these things because it is being nosy. They aren’t trying to open a gate into your device to steal your information. No, instead they are asking your permission to use your stuff to do the thing you want to do. When Zoom wants permission to use your camera, it is so your friends and loved ones can see you. And when it asks to use your audio it’s so you can hear and be heard. If you want to use Zoom you’ll have to say yes.
Don’t worry about leaving a hole for someone to crawl in, Zoom asks every time. In this way they are good Net Neighbors and it is up to us to treat them as such. Besides, you can always turn off your camera or mute your audio after the fact.
That’s all for now, I’ll see you around the neighborhood.
Until then, have fun, find adventure, and be safe.
Trina says:
Great info on zoom. I use it to chat and see my dad thats in a covid unit. Its sad but that’s all I got now. Thank you John for doing this!! Its a big help.