Zoom’s automatic updates have been a staple of the photo-editing software for years, but that may be changing soon. Zoom announced on Wednesday that it will discontinue its automatic updates starting in March 2019. Zoom said that it will instead offer “more frequent and tailored updates” to its users. The company added that it will continue to support Zoom for those who want to keep using the software with automatic updates disabled. Zoom’s decision comes as other photo-editing software companies, such as Adobe and Apple, have discontinued their automatic updates in recent years. Adobe stopped offering automatic updates for its Photoshop and Lightroom products in 2017, while Apple discontinued its automatic update feature for all of its apps in 2018. Zoom’s decision to discontinue its automatic updates could lead to some users feeling stranded without the latest features available in the software. However, Zoom said that it will provide support for those who want to use the software with automatic updates disabled. ..
“We are excited to announce we’re launching an automatic update feature designed to streamline this process and help make security second nature,” said Zoom’s Jeromie Clark in a blog post.
To turn on automatic updates, you need to go to Settings in your Zoom app and then toggle “Automatically keep my Zoom up to date.” You will then be asked to enter admin credentials, which will only be required one time to enable the setting.
Once you’ve turned it on, Zoom will prompt you to update when you’re not in a meeting when a new version is available. This will save you from needing to check for an update yourself every time. You’ll be able to get the latest features and any security fixes as they launch, instead of when you hear about the update or happen to check to see if there’s a new version.
Zoom is also offering different update paths. There’s the Slow option, which is selected by default. This setting provides fewer updates and focuses on stability. The Fast option allows you to grab the latest features as soon as they become available but at the possible cost of stability.
