Apple users have begun reporting that Zoom (opens in new tab) is keeping their microphone on even when they just have the company's video conferencing software (opens in new tab) open in the background.
As reported (opens in new tab) by The Register, the issue seems to affect Zoom's native app installed on MacBooks and Macs (opens in new tab) running macOS Monterrey.
The reason that Zoom users were able to discover that the app had their microphones on in the first place is because Apple recently implemented a visual cue (opens in new tab) to alert its users when an application or device is accessing either their microphone or camera. These visual alerts appear in the Menu Bar as an orange dot when the microphone is being used or as a green dot when the camera is being used.
Updated but not fixed
After macOS Monterrey (opens in new tab) was released late last year, Zoom users first noticed the issue and took to the company's Zoom Community support page (opens in new tab) to voice their concerns. This prompted Zoom to release an update at the end of December that was designed to address the bug.
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While the update's release notes (opens in new tab) say that Zoom version 5.9.1 (3506) “resolved an issue regarding the microphone light indicator being triggered when not in a meeting on macOS Monterey”, it appears that the fix didn't take with one user still seeing the orange dot after applying it, saying:
“Well, that most recent update seems to have made no obvious difference. I've just noticed the orange dot again, and when I quit Zoom, Timing.app told me that I'd apparently been on a 2 hour Zoom call.”
In an email to TechRadar Pro, a Zoom spokersperson explained that no audio data was sent to the company as a result of the bug, saying:
"The Zoom client for macOS 5.9.3, released on January 25, 2022, fixed a bug involving the failure to properly terminate the microphone use post-meeting. Zoom has determined that this bug did not result in audio data being transmitted back to Zoom's platform. As always, we recommend users make sure their Zoom client is updated to the latest version."
With more people working from home (opens in new tab) than ever before, many users simply leave Zoom open so that they can be ready for their next call. However, until this issue is completely fixed, it's probably best to open the app before a call and close it immediately after.
- We've also rounded up the best online collaboration tools (opens in new tab), best VPN (opens in new tab) and best privacy apps (opens in new tab)
Via The Register (opens in new tab)
