Zoom uses Pride month to introduce pronoun sharing option

(Image credit: Zoom)

It's Pride month, which is as good a time as any for Zoom to start giving users the option of displaying their preferred pronouns within the video conferencing app.

But while the new Pronouns feature will have undoubted appeal to the LGBTQ community, Zoom recognizes that there is wider interest too.

The option to easily add and share pronouns appears in Zoom 5.7.0, and eliminates the need to manually tweak display names as was previously required. Instead, there is a new, optional, Pronouns field which can be used to display this information. Zoom has also thought about the fact that not everyone will want to share their pronoun preferences in every meeting they attend.

Zoom says that the introduction of the pronoun sharing option comes as a result of listening to user feedback. The company that the feature is not only helpful to those users looking to share information about their gender identity, but also to a wider audience as it helps users treat each other more courteously by making it easy to see – and therefore respect – individuals' preferences. It is an option that will be welcomed by users who are unable to edit their display name in Zoom because of organizational policies and SSO integration.

Not only is the pronouns fields optional, users can choose when their pronouns are displayed. Three options within profile settings make it possible to choose between never sharing this information, always sharing it, or being asked at the beginning of every meeting or webinar.

Embracing diversity

The move sees Zoom following the lead of the likes of Slack, another popular app to have introduced the ability to share pronouns recently. To take advantage of the new Pronouns feature, you need to upgrade to at least version 5.7.0 of the desktop or mobile client.

With the relevant version of the app installed, just head to the user profile page and enter your preferences in the Pronouns section. You can then use the drop-down menu next to this to choose the visibility of your pronouns. When enabled, pronouns can be seen by other users on your Zoom profile card.

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Sofia is a tech journalist who's been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 20 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.

Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.

Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.

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