How do I remove or hide the left sidebar?

Hi @AlanGiddens, there isn't currently the ability to remove or hide the left side bar. However, you can adjust the width of the sidebar. Also, this article from our support site provides more helpful information regarding customizing your sidebar.  

Hi Bri, is there any talk about the possibility of having this new feature optinal, ie the ability to turn it off or revert back to how it was before this update? 

Yes, sam concern. Along with having controls at the top, you forcibly added a toolbar with actions not needed to be upfront. And no Bri, you cannot change th width of the new sidebar that includes the: All / Mentions / DM's / Channels / Meeting chats  Shared spaced / Apps / More. I assume these actions all existed before, and never needed to be permanent, why now? This vertical toolbar SHOULD be optional. The best tools are those that your customers can customize for their best ways of working, and you've usually been very good at this. 

Hi Community Members!

We value your thoughts and suggestions and understand that this feature may be frustrating for your use case. If you have feedback about the Zoom Team Chat sidebar, we’d love to hear from you! Please share your thoughts by sending your feedback to Zoom: https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0068808

Hi, @AlanGiddens  Unfortunately, Zoom doesn’t allow hiding the sidebar completely right now. You can only resize it. I agree—it would be awesome to have a “collapse” button or toggle. Might be worth submitting it as feedback to Zoom.