Now that we can’t clearly remember a time before Zoom and online meetings where we are sometimes forced to show our faces, video conferencing platforms (like Zoom) also seem to be getting braver and more demanding.
Zoom says you’ll have to update your desktop and mobile app every 90 days starting from 1 November. It will also offer you more updates in between.
On a document published last week, it says the move is in line with industry standards.
“Starting this November, Zoom will be enforcing a new minimum version every 90 days. This change is in line with industry practices and designed to help ensure that Zoom users receive the latest Zoom features, as well as any privacy and security enhancements we make to the platform,” notes Zoom in a support document on their website.
If you decide not to update your Zoom every three months, the older version will simply stop working. You can then opt to use the web version.
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More than one kind of update
Zoom has also noted that you may need to update your app before the 90-day mark it has set and sometimes, it’ll prompt you to do so.
“We may require additional updates outside of this release window to address additional security or compliance features,” adds Zoom.
There are multiple reasons that Zoom will require you to update.
Promoted version
Zoom says it “occasionally” configures the platform to compare the one installed on your device to the one they’d rather have you use. If you don’t have the version that they consider to be better, they’ll prompt you to update to the latest version.
“If the client’s currently installed version is lower than the Prompted version, the user will see a banner informing them an update is available and providing the option to begin updating the client,” notes Zoom.
If you choose not to update after the prompt, you can dismiss the message and carry on with the older, slower version that you’ve gotten used to. If you choose to update, because you’re a progressive person who likes new things, then an updated version will download and install.
“Choosing to update will download and install the latest version available (if AutoUpdate is disabled), or the Slow or Fast version set by Zoom (if AutoUpdate is enabled)…The Slow and Fast track versions should generally be newer/more recent than the Prompted version, so clients utilizing AutoUpdate should not be caught by prompted version check,” notes Zoom.
Fast Track and slow track…are you keeping up?
By Fast Track, Zoom means an automatic installation that will take place on your device if you’ve enabled auto-update. Zoom is gradually rolling this out this week.
“Fast Track releases typically arrive monthly. The current Fast Track version for Windows is 5.12.2 which emerged on October 10,” notes the platform.
Slow Track refers to update releases that occur every one to two months.
“ The current Slow Track version for Windows is also 5.12.2, but it only became available to users who choose that option as of October 27,” it notes.
In June 2020, the company released its latest minimum version 5.3.0 (52670.0921). It says all desktop users with version 5.12.2 or lower should expect a prompt to update on 1 November. That’s today, obviously.