Zoom hosts cannot see your screen or what you are doing on the screen by default. If you choose to share, they can see the screen, window or other content you select; sharing one application does not expose your entire desktop.
Zoom simplifies online face-to-face meetings. It’s fast, easy, and offers more interaction options than just audio or video.
Seeing and talking to each other is essential for staying on the same page, whether you’re discussing a project with colleagues or taking an introductory lesson from one of our instructors.
Screen Sharing on Zoom
Screen sharing is perfect for presentations, collaborating on projects, or showing your work. It’s also useful for fixing technical problems with help from others.
Zoom lets you share your screen in meetings but sometimes, you might not want to show what’s on it. Hosts can’t view your screen through an ordinary Zoom meeting unless you choose to share it.
If you’re having a conversation or working on something privately, the host can’t see your screen unless you share it. Zoom keeps your screen private until you choose to share it.
It helps to know exactly what a host can and cannot see while a meeting is running. Your camera feed is visible to others only when your video is switched on, and your microphone is heard only when you are unmuted. While you are not sharing your screen, other apps, browser tabs, files and desktop notifications stay hidden from the host through Zoom. The one moment that changes is when you click Share Screen and pick a window or your whole desktop, since that is the point where viewers can follow along with what you show. Sharing your entire screen can reveal other apps or notifications that appear on it. Before sharing, close private content and check which screen or window is selected.
Screen sharing and remote control are separate permissions. Sharing alone does not let a host open your files or operate your mouse. Remote control requires you to grant access, approve a request, or enable Auto accept all requests while sharing. Leave that automatic approval off if you want to review each request. Choosing Stop Share also ends remote control.
A common worry is whether a host can quietly turn on your screen view without asking, and the answer is no. Screen sharing always starts from your side, and you decide whether to share a single application window or the entire screen. If you only want to show one document, choose that window and keep unrelated content out of the shared area. Watch the sharing indicator and border so you know when a share is active. When you are finished, click Stop Share, and the host goes right back to seeing only your video and hearing your audio. Treating the Share Screen button as a deliberate on and off switch is the simplest way to keep your private activity private.