The free version of Zoom will soon start showing ads, marking the end of its entirely free conferencing feature.
Soon, users of the free version will see ads in certain countries. According to Zoom, these advertisements are necessary in order to maintain the free availability of its platform.
Only for free users
The ads will only be visible when free users end a meeting. No ads will be visible during the meeting itself. The banner ads will appear at the top of the browser screen. For privacy purposes, a link that allows users to adjust the acceptance of cookies is included.
Recovering investments
The introduction is designed to recoup Zoom’s investments in its platform. Said investments were heavy over the past year, including acquisitions of startups such as German machine learning specialist Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions.
In addition to the new ads, Zoom has set up an investment fund of almost 87 million euros (100 million dollars) for startups that develop applications suitable for its platform.
9 hours ago
