Zoom brings changes to gesture recognition for PC, emojis come to life

Zoom has updated its desktop app with one of the most used features of the iOS version: the recognition of gestures. Starting today, users will be able to raise their hands and gestures will be recognized in a meeting as a request to speak. The second gesture is the thumbs up, which when displayed on the webcam automatically turns into an emoji.

Gesture recognition is released on the desktop eight months after Zoom for iOS. It is worth mentioning that this feature is disabled by default, so if you want to use it, you must enable it in the user account or group.

Using gestures in video calls isn't the only novelty. Zoom has announced a redesign of the Whiteboard to make it a dedicated in-app option. Zoom Whiteboard now integrates directly with Zoom's desktop clients, meetings, and touch rooms.

The Whiteboard has proven to be a very useful addition to Zoom, and now the company wants to promote its use in all applications in its ecosystem. Users can create a whiteboard in the main menu or directly in the web version of Zoom.

Because this is a persistent feature, user-generated or shared Zoom Whiteboard files are saved to the cloud.

The new update also implements one-time passwords for those who haven't enabled two-step verification.

If Zoom detects a suspicious login, it will email the login password. This layer of security includes sending a unique key that expires when entered.

The latest patch (5.10.3) brings improvements to interactions during video calls. This means that if messages increase, the app will turn off notifications to prevent attendees from being distracted.

A tag engine has also been implemented to react to certain words or phrases in group chats. Administrators can set policies to follow when users send unauthorized messages.

Other features include Waiting Room enhancements, maximum capacity during events, emoji reactions in Webinar, a centralized survey catalog, an artificial intelligence-based sales solution called Zoom IQ, and more.

Zoom automatically adds passwords to accounts, and those passwords can be embedded in meeting links. For this reason, when scheduling a meeting, Zoom assumes that you want to use the automatically generated unique meeting ID instead of the personal meeting ID. In fact, there is no reason to use that personal identification.

If you have a regularly scheduled meeting with friends, you can send a new invitation (with a new meeting ID) for each meeting, just to be safe.

1. In the Zoom app, click the Schedule button. If you are using the web interface, click Schedule a Meeting on the top line. In either case, the Schedule Meeting window appears.

2. If desired, enter a topic and description of the meeting.

3. Search for Meeting IDs and make sure Auto Generate is selected. This will generate a unique ID for that meeting instead of using the personal meeting ID.

4. Under the Security heading, a code will be assigned; it can be changed.

5. Click Advanced if you want to allow participants to join without having to use the waiting room (not recommended), mute them on entry, automatically record the meeting, or approve or block entries from specific geographic areas.

7. Click Save.

8. And that's all. When you are ready, you can click the blue Start this meeting button or use the generated meeting link.

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