Slides as Background

[majahakai]

Zoom’s decision to remove the "Slides as Virtual Background" feature isn’t just inconvenient—it’s bafflingly out of touch with how modern professionals, educators, and facilitators actually communicate in 2025. In one update, Zoom has stripped away a function that allowed presenters to engage, personalize, and elevate virtual presentations in ways that made sense for human connection in a digital world. Let’s be clear: the ability to be present alongside your content—not as a disembodied thumbnail in the corner, but integrated into the narrative space—was a game-changer. It humanized virtual presenting. It aligned with brain science about attention and visual anchoring. And most importantly, it gave people a reason to choose Zoom over less interactive platforms. Now? We’re back to the flat, boxed-in screen share experience of 2016—an interface that undermines every best practice in virtual facilitation. Presenters are minimized. Slides dominate. Audience attention drops. And ironically, Zoom—the platform that once promised to make meetings more personal—has just made them more mechanical. What’s worse is the silence around the change. No roadmap. No clear rationale. No replacement that matches the power and elegance of the original feature. For educators, keynote speakers, sales professionals, and facilitation experts who built workflows around this functionality, it’s a slap in the face. Zoom has effectively told its power users: “We’re prioritizing something else. Good luck.” Well, here’s the problem—those users are also Zoom’s influencers, advocates, and revenue drivers. Remove the tools they rely on, and they won’t just complain. They’ll move. To platforms that understand that visual storytelling and presenter presence aren’t nice-to-haves—they’re non-negotiables. Zoom, if you’re listening: walk this back. Fast. Or risk becoming the next tool that was great... until it wasn’t.

[coolsince93]

has this been confirmed? are they taking the function down? i have been actively using it every day %)

[robmOz]

Hasn't it just been redesigned?

https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0067697