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Zoom installation operating as a superuser under macOS, operating under questionable practices

As useful as Zoom has become, especially in the wake of Coronavirus and the need to videoconference, the company’s once again in hot water over how some of its software operates.

In addition to taking flak for not encrypting its data end to end, a developer has noted that Zoom installs into the macOS without ever clicking the installation button.

Per the tweet:

Ever wondered how the @zoom_us macOS installer does it’s job without you ever clicking install? Turns out they (ab)use preinstallation scripts, manually unpack the app using a bundled 7zip and install it to /Applications if the current user is in the admin group (no root needed).

This definitely fits into some questionable territory, and it’s something that’ll have to be looked into, or at least questioned.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via Twitter