If you're using Zoom on a Mac, you now need to make sure it's updated to version 5.9.3. Zoom has confirmed a bug that appears to cause the microphone to stay on even after leaving a meeting on Macs running macOS Monterey, first reported by The Register (via 9to5Mac).
Users have been complaining about the problem since December, as documented in a post on the Zoom community forum. Several users have noticed that the orange recording indicator appears in Control Center when Zoom is not in use; Indicator Light is a privacy feature introduced in Monterey that alerts you when an app is using your microphone. This obviously raised some privacy concerns, as Zoom has had a serious privacy breach on Macs in the past. In 2020, the company was accused of tricking users into offering end-to-end encryption, when in fact this was not the case at the time.
A Zoom representative later commented on the post, stating that Zoom "found a bug with the Zoom client for macOS that could indicate the orange indicator light continues to appear after leaving a meeting, call, or webinar." The rep also noted that Zoom's 5.9.3 update, released in late January, will fix the issue. Zoom first attempted to fix the bug in a December 5.9.1 update, as the release notes state that Zoom "fixed an issue where the microphone indicator light would activate when not in a meeting on macOS Monterey", but it seems that this solution didn't work for everyone.
"Zoom's client for macOS 5.9.3, released on January 25, 2022, fixed a bug that prevented microphone use from ending correctly after the meeting," Zoom spokesman Matt Nagel said in an email. sent to The Verge. "Zoom has determined that this bug has not caused audio to be streamed back to the Zoom platform. As always, we encourage users to ensure their Zoom client is updated to the latest version."
One of my colleagues, Dan Seifert, can confirm that the 5.9.3 update actually fixes the bug: before the update, an orange indicator light appeared in Control Center and in the menu bar when Zoom was open (but it didn't show up). used for a video). call) and the light disappeared shortly after installing the update. You can update Zoom on a Mac by opening the Zoom desktop client, clicking your profile picture in the upper-right corner of the window, and selecting "Check for updates." Zoom will automatically check for and install the latest update.
