Zoom retracts claim that it has 300 million daily active users

Zoom has quietly admitted that it doesn’t actually have 300 million daily active users, which is the number it has been touting for the past few weeks.

The videoconferencing service, which has gained immense popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has clarified that it actually has “300 million daily Zoom meeting participants.”

The big difference in wording is that daily meeting participants can be counted numerous times. For instance, if you attend four Zoom meetings in a day, you will be counted four times. A daily active user references one user a day, regardless of how many meetings they have attended.

By only keeping track of daily meeting participants, a company is able to make its service appear much more popular than it actually may be.

The Verge noticed the change in wording and received the following statement from Zoom: “We are humbled and proud to help over 300 million daily meeting participants stay connected during this pandemic.”

“In a blog post on April 22, we unintentionally referred to these participants as ‘users’ and ‘people.’ When we realized this error, we adjusted the wording to ‘participants.’ This was a genuine oversight on our part.”

Although Zoom’s growth has been expansive, since it did grow from 10 million daily participants to 300 million daily participants from December to March, its competitors are catching up.

Microsoft has noted that it has seen a 70 percent increase in daily active users on Teams, which totals to 75 million. Microsoft has also stated that it saw 200 million meeting participants in one day.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in several companies pushing to garner more users as people work, study and socialize from home. Facebook rolled out a new videoconferencing feature that supports 50 participants, and Google plans to make its Meet service free for all users in the coming weeks.

Source: The Verge