What does the term "Zoom Client" mean?

[breakingborders]

This might be a silly question, but I am reviewing the encryption features of Zoom and it said that encryption is only available if all users are using a zoom client. Does this include free accounts?

Thanks! 

[EnterpriseNerd]

Hi there! "Client" in general is an app that allows you to access something. Zoom has different clients for different platforms. Here is a good article that explains all the different ones: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360027397692-Desktop-client-mobile-app-web-client-and-PWA-...

I believe that availability of these different clients does not depend on whether it's free or paid account. Client would be used by the meeting participant, it's not driven by the host only.

[Ray_Harwood]

Hey, @breakingborders.

The answer from @EnterpriseNerd  is pretty close. Many people use the Zoom Client app on their desktop or smart device.  

But it’s possible to join a Zoom Meeting or Webinar directly in a browser, and also possible to join just the audio portion by phone.   Neither of these connection methods currently support encryption of the Zoom data stream. 

See this Zoom Support article on encryption for more info … especially the prerequisites section;

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360048660871-End-to-end-E2EE-encryption-for-meetings