Is Zoom encrypted?

Only if you turn on end-to-end encryption. By default, Zoom's servers make and hold the keys to your meetings. Cloud recordings and AI summaries only work with it off, and Zoom keeps them.

Checked on 25 October 2026 against 6 sources.

Made by Secria. We grade every app by the same rules. How we check

ZoomZoom

Who can read itPersonal accounts

One-to-one callsOnly you, once you turn it onMeetings use keys made by Zoom's servers unless you switch on end-to-end encryption in your settings.^{1, 2}Turn it on
Group callsOnly you, once you turn it onEnd-to-end encrypted meetings work for up to 1,000 people, all joining from the Zoom app.¹Turn it on
RecordingsZoom can read itCloud recordings, transcripts and AI summaries are processed by Zoom, and none of them work in end-to-end encrypted meetings.^{1, 5, 6}
Post-quantumYes, once you turn it onWhen everyone is on Zoom 6.0.10 or later, end-to-end encrypted meetings use post-quantum keys automatically.^{1, 3}Turn it on

Who holds the keys: Zoom's servers by default; with end-to-end encryption on, the participants' own devices make the keys.
What Zoom can still see: Zoom's privacy statement says it collects when people join and leave meetings, which features they use, and their IP address and device details.

Checked on 25 Oct 2026Sources JSON Cite

Turn on end-to-end encryption, once

Sign in to the Zoom web portal, click your profile picture, then Settings.
Select Meeting, and under Security turn on Allow use of end-to-end encryption.
Under Default encryption type, choose End-to-end encryption, then click Save.

Free accounts verify a phone number by text first. In these meetings, cloud recording, live transcription, AI features and joining by phone or web browser stop working, and everyone needs the Zoom app.

Email is worth checking next: Gmail, Outlook and iCloud Mail can all read your mailbox. See which email services can.

Is Zoom end-to-end encrypted by default?

No. By default, Zoom uses what it calls enhanced encryption: the keys for each meeting are made and managed by Zoom's servers¹. With end-to-end encryption on, the keys are made on the participants' own devices instead¹.

You switch it on in the Zoom web portal, and it applies to the meetings you set up with it. You can't turn it on in the middle of a meeting².

What stops working with Zoom end-to-end encryption?

Zoom's help page lists cloud recording, live transcription, Zoom's AI features, live streaming, polls, Zoom Apps, notes, the whiteboard and meeting chat before and after the meeting¹. People also can't join by phone or from a web browser: everyone needs the Zoom desktop or mobile app¹.

In June 2025, Zoom updated its encryption white paper to let people join an end-to-end encrypted meeting before the host arrives⁴.

Is Zoom quantum safe?

Only for end-to-end encrypted meetings. Since May 2024, Zoom's end-to-end encryption has used a post-quantum key exchange based on Kyber 768, the algorithm standardized as ML-KEM³. It's used automatically when everyone is on Zoom 6.0.10 or later; otherwise the meeting uses standard end-to-end encryption¹.

It protects against someone recording a meeting now to decrypt it later. Zoom says it isn't designed to stop attacks that would need a working quantum computer during the meeting itself¹.

Can Zoom see my cloud recordings?

Yes. Cloud recordings are stored by Zoom, and they can't be made in end-to-end encrypted meetings¹. The free plan records only to your own computer, while paid plans add cloud recording⁵.

The free plan also includes AI meeting summaries for up to three meetings a month⁵. Like cloud recording, they only work with end-to-end encryption off¹.

How Zoom compares

Sorted by how many parts are sealed by default, then by how many can be. Ties go A to Z.

FaceTimeYes ZoomOptional Google MeetNo Microsoft TeamsNo Phone callsNo

Sources

Using end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in Zoom meetings, Zoom. Read on 25 Oct 2026.
Enabling end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for Zoom meetings, Zoom. Read on 25 Oct 2026.
Zoom bolsters security offering with the inclusion of post-quantum end-to-end encryption in Zoom Workplace, Zoom. Read on 25 Oct 2026.
Zoom Cryptography Whitepaper changelog, Zoom (GitHub). Read on 25 Oct 2026.
Zoom Workplace Pricing, Zoom. Read on 25 Oct 2026.
Zoom Privacy Statement, Zoom. Read on 25 Oct 2026.

Changes to this answer

25 Oct 2026First published.