Accessibility Frequently Asked Questions

The following are answers to common questions we receive in regards to accessibility. To acquire additional accessibility-related support, request documents in an alternate format, or to register disability requirements with our support teams, please email access@zoom.us

At Zoom, we strive to ensure that people of all abilities can meet and collaborate with one another by taking into consideration the wide range of hearing, vision, mobility, and cognitive abilities. Our teams adhere to the WCAG 2.1 AA recommendations while designing and developing every feature to ensure that accessibility considerations are not just nice-to-haves, but requirements in our development process.

Please see the following support article for more information: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/8158738379917-Managing-automated-captions-  

Captions shared in a meeting can be saved locally by both hosts and attendees if the meeting host has enabled the “Save Captions” web setting.

The Zoom meeting invites the Zoom captioning service to join the meeting. The Zoom meeting then sends the audio portion of the meeting to this service, which processes the audio and returns the captions that are made available to participants.

No, the captioning service runs in Zoom’s data centers on Zoom’s servers that are managed by Zoom. Only Zoom staff have access to these data center resources.

Zoom does not have access to real-time customer captions. Zoom cloud recordings containing customer audio and text data is considered “customer content” and is subject to our privacy statement and strict, least-privilege access controls. These controls are documented, audited, and evidenced by Zoom’s SOC 2 attestation.  All privileged access to infrastructure data and systems is logged, monitored, and controlled using multi-factor authentication and least-privilege access controls.

Zoom's design and development process expect that newly introduced features are made accessible from the very beginning. The accessibility team collaborates with the product and engineering teams at every stage of the release process. We believe accessibility should begin at the design phase, where fundamental accessibility issues can be identified and addressed as early as possible. The accessibility team tests with screen readers and with keyboard-only, and works in tandem with developers to ensure that all releases are compatible with as many assistive technologies as possible.

Zoom is constantly gathering feedback from users to identify areas where there is a mismatch between our products and our users' abilities. If accessibility bugs exist, Zoom will work with users and customers to identify the most critical accessibility issues and incorporate them into the roadmap. While timelines will depend on the severity of issues, Zoom takes “showstopper” issues (issues that make it impossible for users with disabilities to access information) very seriously and will ensure that those issues are of highest priority in the Zoom roadmap.

Full details about how each product complies with each WCAG guideline can be found in the products’ respective VPAT documents can be found on our Accessibility Page.

Zoom supports closed captioning for its live meetings through several different methods. Meeting hosts may type the captions themselves or assign another participant to type closed captioning. Alternatively, meeting hosts may also use a CART provider for onsite or remote captioning. For remote captioning, Zoom provides a Closed Captioning REST API that allows caption providers to stream their captions directly into the Zoom interface. Zoom's Cloud Room Connector and Virtual Room Connector also provide support for displaying closed captioning on H.323 devices.

CART providers use many different platforms depending on the needs of their clients. Support for integrated captions within Zoom can be accomplished as long as the CART provider is able to use a captioning platform that supports Zoom's Closed Caption REST API. VITAC is a CART provider that supports Zoom's Closed Captioning API. StreamText and 1CappApp are captioning platforms that also support Zoom's Closed Captioning API.

Zoom cloud meeting recordings can be streamed through the My Recording page of the Zoom web portal. The cloud recordings video player is accessible to screen readers and accessible to keyboard-only. Cloud recordings also support closed captioning and transcript views.

Zoom ensures that its products are operable for users with mobility impairments by supporting keyboard accessibility and by designing interactions that do not require fine motor control. Keyboard accessibility is incorporated into the development process by ensuring that any actions that can be completed with a mouse may also be completed with only a keyboard, and with comparable ease of use. Zoom also provides keyboard shortcuts that are customizable and can be enabled globally.

To ensure full keyboard support within the desktop meeting client, the toolbar must be set to not automatically hide. This can be accomplished by unchecking the "Always show meeting controls" under the "Accessibility" section of the desktop application Settings, or in the "In-meeting (basic)" section of the web portal Settings. This may be also be accomplished on a per-meeting basis using the "Toggle the 'Always show meeting controls' option in Settings/Accessibility" keyboard shortcut. Please see below for a list of other important navigational keyboard shortcuts.

 

Description Windows macOS

Toggle the "Always show meeting controls" option in Settings/Accessibility

 Alt

Ctrl + \

Navigate among Zoom popup windows/toolbars

 F6

CMD + ~

Change focus to Zoom meeting controls (at the top when sharing your screen at the bottom when not sharing)

Ctrl + Alt + Shift

CMD + ~

Begin remote control

Alt + Shift + R

Ctrl + Shift + R

Zoom ensures that its products are operable and perceivable for users with visual impairments. Our products support common screen readers such as NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and Android Talkback. Additionally, visual interfaces are designed with adequate color contrast, size, and usage of color to ensure clarity for users with various vision needs.

User content shared through Zoom’s screen sharing feature is rendered to meeting participants as an HD video stream. In order to make contents of the screen share accessible to attendees who use screen readers, it is recommended that the presenter share the relevant files/notes with meeting attendees. This solution will ensure that the document's full content and semantic markup is preserved and made accessible to screen reader users. Zoom provides file upload capabilities in its in-meeting chat so that meeting hosts may share files to participants while in-meeting.

Zoom's remote control feature allows users to control the screen sharer's screen reader. The host computer must first enable "share computer audio" to stream the screen reader speech output to the guest computer. Once the guest has gained remote control, the common screen reader keystrokes will be registered on the host computer.

The Zoom Application on Windows, iOS, and Android support the high contrast settings defined in the system preferences. The Zoom Application for macOS supports Dark Mode.

The Zoom Application on macOS and Windows only support the inheritance of the display scaling options defined in the operating system settings. The Zoom desktop applications also provides font size customizations for subtitles. The Zoom Application for iOS and Android support font sizes defined in the system settings.

Sign language interpreters may join a Zoom meeting just like any other video participants. Participants may use Zoom's pinning feature to keep the interpreter's video thumbnail stationary.

Zoom is committed to empowering people with diverse abilities and using technology to eliminate barriers. In connection with this effort, we have published our Accessibility Plan, as well as our 2024 and 2025 Progress Reports on our Plan, pursuant to the Accessible Canada Act. We welcome your feedback on our Accessibility Plan, Progress Reports, and accessibility issues, which you can submit by email to zoomphone-canada-access@zoom.us or by phone at (877) 662-1070. You may also submit feedback anonymously through our main feedback portal at https://zoom.us/feed, but please reference the Accessible Canada Act and Zoom Phone if you use this portal.

 

The feedback you submit will be acknowledged in the order and same manner in which it was received, unless your feedback was provided anonymously. The feedback we receive will be reviewed by an accessibility expert and your input will be included in our plan, where appropriate. Personal information included in your feedback remains confidential within Zoom unless you consent to the disclosure of your personal information. Upon your request, we will work with you to provide this description of our feedback process in an alternative format. Alex Mooc, Head of Accessibility, is Zoom Phone’s designated representative to receive feedback under the Accessible Canada Act.

 

Zoom’s website at zoom.us, including this Accessibility Frequently Asked Questions page, conforms to WCAG 2.1 Level AA.