Getting started with Zoom Apps

With Zoom Apps you can now access your favorite apps in Meetings by using your Zoom desktop client and Zoom video communications. Zoom Apps combine the power of video communications with your favorite apps. It’s a great use of Zoom Apps to streamline workflows, work collaboratively with colleagues, and even bring in the element of fun and wellness to your interactions with colleagues, friends, and family members.

It is possible to install these apps, which have been reviewed and approved by Zoom, directly from the desktop client or through the Zoom Marketplace. Once the app is installed, you can use it directly within the Zoom desktop client, or launch a meeting with the opened app, inviting others to view and participate in the meeting.

There are several steps that you can take to get Zoom Apps installed and running on your desktop as well as in meetings. You’ll find more information regarding deployments of Zoom Apps by admins, preapprovals of Zoom Apps, as well as other frequently asked questions on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Prerequisites for installing and accessing Zoom Apps

Support for Zoom Apps in Meetings

• A desktop version of Zoom is available for download
  • Windows: version 5.7.3 or higher (VDI 5.8.4 or higher)
  • MacOS: version 5.7.3 or higher

Breakout Rooms with Zoom Apps are now available

• There is a desktop client for Zoom.
  • Windows: version 5.8.3 or higher (VDI 5.8.4 or higher)
  • macOS: version 5.8.3 or higher

Note: If Zoom Apps are not available for your desktop client, please contact your account administrator who will be able to enable this feature.

How to install Zoom Apps

It is possible to install Zoom Apps before the start of a meeting in the App Marketplace, on the desktop client in the Apps tab, or during the meeting itself.

Installing a Zoom App in a meeting

1. Let’s begin a meeting
2. By clicking on the Apps button.
3. Once you have clicked Discover, we can begin the meeting.
4. You can view the featured apps by clicking the Discover button.
5. Almost every app has a View option, which allows you to view more information about the app, and an Add button will enable you to install it.
6. Just follow the instructions on the screen for authorization. Please note that these instructions may vary from one application to another.
   Note: When you are in a Breakout Room, Zoom Apps require version 5.8.3 or higher to be installed and accessed.

Installing a Zoom App on the desktop client

1. You will need to open the Zoom desktop client.
2. You will need to log into your account in the Zoom desktop client.
3. Select “Apps” from the menu.
4. You will be able to view the available Apps on the Discover tab.
5. When you click on the name of the app, you will find more information about it, and you will be able to add it to your device.
   In order for the app to have access to the necessary account information, you will be prompted to authorize it through a web page. Simply follow the instructions to authorize the app.
   Note:It is likely that your account owner or admin needs to approve the app before it can be installed, if the Request pre-approval option is shown instead. You can send a pre-approval request to your owner/administrator by clicking on Request pre-approval.

Installing a Zoom App from the Marketplace

1. Please sign in to the App Marketplace.
2. Using the search bar on the top of the page, you can enter a keyword, select a category, or filter the apps that are currently displayed to find apps.
3. Choosing a specific app after searching is as simple as clicking their icon.
4. Click on Install.
   If the Zoom App is installed, you can use it in a meeting from the desktop client once it has been installed.
   Note: If the only option you see is Request pre-approval, the app must be approved by the owner or admin of the account before it can be installed. Send a request to the owner or administrator by clicking Request pre-approve.

How to open a Zoom App

If you want to promote collaboration on a project with the Zoom App during a live meeting, then you can launch the Zoom App within an existing meeting, or you can use the Zoom App outside of a meeting using the Zoom client on your desktop.

Opening a Zoom App in the desktop client

1. Click on the Apps  tab.
2. In order to view the apps you have already installed, click on My Apps.
3. Click on the App you wish to use and click on the Open button that appears beside it.
   Within the Zoom window you will see the Zoom application open.
4. The option to switch between multiple active apps can be accessed at the top of the window by clicking the arrow next to the name of the app and selecting another app open.
5. It is possible to return to the list of installed apps by clicking My Apps in the top-left corner of the screen.

As soon as you open the app, you are presented with the following additional options:

•  Start Meeting: Click on the “Start Meeting” button to start an instant meeting with other team members. During the meeting, any currently open apps will be opened automatically and the Invite window will appear to select other contacts to join the meeting and collaborate with.
•  Send: It’s easy to get others to collaborate with you outside of the meeting by inviting them to use the opened App. Once they’re notified by a chat message, they’ll be able to use the app. As well as installing and authorizing the Zoom App, the recipients of the request should also install it.
• More :
  • Open in a New Window: When you launch an app in a new window, you will be able to move it around and resize it independently from the Zoom desktop client.
  • Refresh App
  • Close

Opening a Zoom App in a meeting

It is possible to open Zoom Apps in the client and then bring them into an existing meeting or start them during an existing meeting as required.

It is primarily down to the fact that the Zoom Apps are restricted to meetings that have a host, or specifically, the user who has been assigned to the meeting, rather than whichever participant currently has the host role in the meeting. In some Zoom Apps, access to the meeting information may be required that the original meeting host would typically only be able to provide. Therefore, those Zoom Apps may only available when the original meeting host is present at the meeting. Other Zoom Apps that require a lower level of access to meeting information are able to be used without a host’s presence, but are limited in what they can be used for during a meeting.

Note:You need version 5.8.3 or higher in order to be able to access and install Zoom Apps when in a Breakout Room.

Additionally, through the in-meeting security controls, the host of the meeting can immediately suspend all Zoom Apps use in the meeting at any time.

1. Start a meeting or join an existing one.
2. Go to the meeting controls and click on Apps.
3. You can view all of the apps you already have installed by clicking My Apps.
4. By clicking the App you wish to use, a panel will appear on the left side of the screen.
   Note: Certain Zoom Apps may not be available to you without the person who owns the meeting being present.
5. Then click the next icon from the App name at the top of the panel to select another app. This is an optional method of switching between multiple open apps.

Once the App is opened, you have the additional following options:

•  Collaborate: A facility that lets you invite other people to contribute directly to the content in the Zoom App that you currently have open. In this way, users can view, edit, and even contribute content to the document without having to share and annotate, or use remote control to do so.
• Note: The Zoom Apps feature is not available in all Zoom Apps, so it may not show up in all Zoom Apps that support it. This requires version 5.9.3 or higher.
•  Share: Click on the Share button to start sharing your view with others. In addition to the options to share with other players, clicking the next to share also provides the option to share with computer audio.
•  Send: This feature lets you invite other collaborators to download and use the app together. It is possible to select other participants from the list to invite them. It will be notified to participants via a banner and a chat message that they’re invited to use the Zoom app, and then they’ll have to install and authorize the app.
• Notes:
  • It is possible to collaborate with some Apps through sharing alone, without requiring the app to be installed first.
  • It is important to know that if you do not have the required desktop client version installed, the Android app message will appear in the chat as “[Upgrade to the latest version to see this message]”.
• Expand: By increasing the side of the Zoom App panel, the user will be able to gain a better understanding of how to use the app. When you click on Collapse, the size will revert back to its original state.

Opening a Zoom App in Guest mode

In guest mode, guests can use apps without Zoom giving the app full access to the participant’s Zoom account data, enabling them to use apps without Zoom giving access to the participant’s Zoom account data. Using this method, all participants do not need to add the app themselves to be able to get the full interactive experience from the app. But data from the participants is still required for the app to work.

Note:

This feature is available in some apps but it may not be available in all because the Guest mode must be enabled by the App developer.

In guest mode, Apps may access:

• Basic Profile Information
  Consists of the participant’s display name and email address.
• Basic Browser and Device Data
  For apps to function, they need to be accessed via a web browser, and like any web browser, they need to receive an IP address from the device and to receive cookies.
• Basic Information about how you interact with Zoom
  There are apps that are capable of receiving basic information about how participants interact with Zoom, including their reactions and when they turn on or off their camera and microphone.
  Performance statistics
  Are also collected from applications, which provide information about how well the app is performing.

Note: In addition to having access to all information you and others share directly or indirectly with the app, it is important to remember that the app may also have access to the information you or others share directly or indirectly with the app. It is possible, for example, for a host to share your email address and profile with the App if it has access to these details or if they are the owner of the account.

If you are interested in learning more about specific apps on Zoom’s App Marketplace, then you can access their listing page.