Is Zoom safe for my child?

Zoom is generally safe for children when meetings are set up correctly. The primary risk is 'Zoom-bombing' — uninvited people joining a meeting via a shared link and displaying harmful content or making contact. This risk is effectively eliminated by using a Waiting Room and requiring a passcode. Most reputable schools, tutors, and clubs already configure these settings. For family calls and supervised lessons, Zoom is a low-risk platform. The main things to watch for are: calls with people your child does not know well in real life, unsupervised one-to-one calls with adults, and private chat messages during meetings.

Can my child be recorded on Zoom without my knowledge?

This depends on the meeting settings. Hosts can record meetings, and in some configurations participants can also record. Reputable organisations running lessons or clubs should have a recording policy and inform parents. If you are unsure, ask the organiser. For your child's own calls, you can prevent participant recording via Zoom's settings. Local recording on a participant's device (screen recording using the device's own tools) is technically possible regardless of Zoom settings — this is a reason to ensure your child only joins calls with people you trust.

Zoom Safety Guide for Parents

What parents need to know about Zoom — video call safety, meeting link risks, recording concerns, and settings for safer use with children.

Official age

16+

We recommend

16+

Developer

Zoom Video Communications

Risks

Direct messaging

Live streaming

Overview

Zoom is a video conferencing platform primarily designed for business and educational use. It became ubiquitous during the Covid-19 pandemic and is now widely used by schools, clubs, tutors, and families. Zoom itself is a legitimate and widely trusted platform, but its ease of use — including the ability to join meetings via a link without creating an account — creates specific safeguarding risks when links are shared insecurely.

How children use it

Children primarily use Zoom for school lessons, tutoring, clubs, and keeping in touch with family. Older teenagers may use it for study groups or social calls. The risks are less about Zoom's design and more about how meeting links are shared and who joins calls.

Main risks

online strangers privacy oversharing harmful content

Recommended privacy settings

Waiting Room

Location: Zoom Settings → Security → Waiting Room

Set to: Always on for meetings involving children

The Waiting Room requires the host to admit each participant before they can join. This prevents uninvited people from joining calls, even if they have the meeting link.

Require Passcode

Location: Zoom Settings → Security → Require Passcode

Set to: On for any meeting involving children

Requiring a passcode in addition to the meeting link significantly reduces the risk of uninvited joining ('Zoom-bombing').

Recording Controls

Location: Zoom Settings → Recording

Set to: Disable participant recording

By default, participants may be able to record a meeting. Disabling participant recording ensures that only the host controls recording and that children cannot be recorded without the host's knowledge.

Parent actions

essential

Ensure any Zoom meeting your child joins for school, tutoring, or clubs has a waiting room and passcode set up by the organiser — ask the organiser to confirm this

Time: 5 minutes

essential

Talk to your child about not sharing Zoom meeting links or passcodes with anyone not invited to the call

Time: 10 minutes

recommended

Sit nearby during any Zoom calls your younger child has with people they do not know well in real life

Time: Ongoing