Before You Begin
Zoom includes a new Security button that can be accessed anytime during your Zoom meeting. While all the features in the Security button are available elsewhere, the new button makes it much easier to find and secure Zoom during a meeting.
For more comprehensive advice for managing disruptions, see Managing Risk of Disruption in Zoom Meetings.
Accessing The Security Button
The Security button can be accessed in the bottom navigation of any Zoom meeting you are hosting. Clicking on the Security button will present six options. If an option is enabled, you will see a check mark appear on the side.
Security Button Options:
Lock Meeting
Enabling Lock Meeting will prevent anyone else from joining your meeting. This may cause issues if students or other participants accidentally leave the meeting due to a connection issue and need to return.
Enable Waiting Room
Enabling the Waiting Room feature allows the host to control when a participant joins the meeting. As the meeting host you can admit attendees one by one or hold all attendees in the waiting room and admit them all at once. For more information, see Admitting participants during a meeting.
To secure your meeting, consider only enabling the waiting room once you believe all students or participants have joined. This will prevent unknown participants from joining but still allow the host to allow disconnected or late participants to join.
Share Screen
Allow participants to Share Screen will allow all participants to share their screen during a meeting. This may be needed if students or participants need to present or share material to the rest of the meeting participants. Disabling Share Screen does not prevent students or participants from sharing their screen within a breakout room.
Chat
Allow participants to Chat will allow participants to chat with the host and privately with other students. Disabling chat will block all participants from chatting in any form. Hosts can still send messages to participants but they won’t be able to respond. Disabling Chat does not prevent students or participants from using the chat tool within a breakout room.
Rename Themselves
Allow participants to Rename Themselves will allow participants to change their name after entering the meeting. Disabling will prevent students from changing names to something inappropriate or in an attempt to mimic another student.
Unmute Themselves
Allow participants to Unmute Themselves will allow participants to unmute themselves if they have been muted by the host. If you disable this (no check mark to left) participants will not be allowed to turn their microphone back on if the host has muted them.
Start Video
Allow participants to start video. If this is unchecked, participants will not be able allowed to start their own video.
Suspend Participant Activities
This feature is only available and will properly function on Zoom client 5.4.3 and above. Hosts on older versions will not see this option, and the feature may not fully function on participants on older versions.
When this button is selected, all participants activities will be suspended. Audio and video will be disabled for all participants, all screen sharing will be ended and disabled, breakout rooms will be closed, recording of the meeting will be suspended, and the meeting will be locked. To reverse these changes, return to the Security button and re-enable functionality that you wish to return to normal.