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Newcomer
aaronklein
Newcomer
December 18, 2021
Solved

Why is the Zoom app listening on my microphone when not in a meeting?

I'm running MacOS Monterey. Several times in the last few weeks, I've noticed the orange dot indicating the microphone is being used by an app, and I click on the Control Center and see that Zoom is accessing the microphone. I'm not in a meeting and simply have the Zoom app open. Why would Zoom be accessing the microphone when I'm not in a meeting?

      Bitcoin_Shaman
      Bitcoin_ShamanAnswer
      Community Champion | Employee
      February 11, 2022

      Hey @aaronklein 

       

      We experienced a bug relating to the Zoom client for macOS, which could show the orange indicator light continue to appear after having left a meeting, call, or webinar. This bug was addressed in the Zoom client for macOS version 5.9.3 and we recommend you update to version 5.9.3 to apply the fix. 

       

      As always, we recommend users make sure their Zoom client is updated to the latest version. Users can also opt-in to Automatic Updates by selecting “Automatically keep Zoom desktop client up to date” in your Zoom client settings.

       

      Thanks!

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      57 replies

      Newcomer
      Mrcskrgr
      Newcomer
      December 20, 2021

      Same issue here. Orange dot active and Control Center indicating that Zoom is accessing the microphone, but with no ongoing active call. Closing down Zoom app removes the orange dot indication. Why is Zoom listening in the background?

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        Newcomer
        MichaelThwaite
        Newcomer
        December 21, 2021

        Just noticed the same this morning; they don't have a great track record with privacy, are you looking at another attempt to 'improve the user experience'?

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          Newcomer
          Murtesa
          Newcomer
          March 11, 2024

          Oro

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          Newcomer
          johnoshea
          Newcomer
          December 22, 2021

          Seeing the same thing here (Zoom starting to listen without any user input).

           

          I've left an OBS window open without a recording running, and am seeing the orange dot, presumably as OBS is monitoring audio to be able to update its onscreen audio levels display. I wonder if Zoom is doing something similar.

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            Newcomer
            apireno
            Newcomer
            January 5, 2022

            Same issue here. This is major privacy breach and I am considering dropping Zoom and asking my IT department to replace Zoom with a more secure option.

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              Newcomer
              ancerpt
              Newcomer
              January 5, 2022

              Same issue has been happening to me for a few months. Randomly my music playback will get distorted and the only way to fix it is to quit zoom. I just updated to MacOS Monterey and now see the same orange dot indicator with zoom listed.

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                Newcomer
                johnoshea
                Newcomer
                January 6, 2022

                Huh. Looks like it's been fixed: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201361963-New-Updates-for-Mac-OS

                 

                December 27, 2021 version 5.9.1 (3506)

                Resolved Issues

                • Resolved an issue regarding the microphone light indicator being triggered when not in a meeting on macOS Monterrey 

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                  Newcomer
                  johnoshea
                  Newcomer
                  January 6, 2022

                  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.

                   

                  At this point, it looks like it's safest to only run Zoom while on active calls and keep it quit otherwise.

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                    Newcomer
                    AlexeyU
                    Newcomer
                    January 17, 2022

                    Even in 5.9.1 it's same.

                     

                    And what about privacy? Listening my private environment outside of a meeting doesn't seem right at all.

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                      Newcomer
                      adamj
                      Newcomer
                      January 20, 2022

                      Yep, same here. Zoom 5.9.1 on MacOS 12.1. Keep seeing the orange dot and control centre saying Zoom is using my mic.

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                        Newcomer
                        a_naive_custome
                        Newcomer
                        January 22, 2022

                        click "zoom.us" from the status bar-> select Preferences.. -> select Audio, do nothing but close the Setting dialog window. This makes the orange dot disappear for me. This is a workaround if one doesn't want to quit zoom completely, but why not?

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                          Newcomer
                          rsrsrs
                          Newcomer
                          January 24, 2022

                          Same issue. This is really worrying privacy-wise.

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                            Newcomer
                            EASIN
                            Newcomer
                            June 19, 2023

                            Hi

                             

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