The Zoom Terms of Service and the Zoom Services Description together form the “Agreement” between a customer and Zoom Communications, Inc. and its affiliates. They govern access to Zoom’s Services and Software unless the customer and Zoom have signed a written Master Subscription Agreement (MSA). If they have, the MSA governs instead.[1] The Services Description sets out service- and feature-specific terms. It applies to Services ordered on an Order Form, bought through a reseller customer agreement, or provided by Zoom.[2] If the account’s bill-to or sold-to address is in India, the contracting entity is ZVC India Pvt. Ltd.[1] For the licensing model these terms support, see Zoom licensing.
Document hierarchy
- Order Form. An online registration or order form approved by Zoom. Where it conflicts with the Agreement, the Order Form controls, but only to the extent needed to resolve that conflict.[1]
- Terms of Service or MSA. The master terms. Capitalized terms not defined in the Terms take their meaning from the Services Description or from §34.[1]
- Services Description. Defines Host, Participant and the product-specific hosts, and states which Services depend on another subscription.[2]
- Policies. Customers agree to the guides, notices and policies at zoom.us/legal, including the Zoom Phone Acceptable Use policy.[1] The Acceptable Use Guidelines are incorporated into the Agreement.[1]
Catalog proof: Order Form controls over the Terms.
Ordering and minimum commitment
The customer must “maintain your minimum quantity of the Services set forth on your Order Form” for the Initial Subscription Term or current Renewal Term. Modifications take effect at the next Renewal Term, except requested increases, which take effect as the Order Form states.[1] Zoom need not provide new Services until outstanding balances are paid.[1] The support documentation works the same way. Before licences can be reduced they must be unassigned from users, and the reduction takes effect at the end of the billing cycle.[4] Added licences are prorated so that they co-terminate with the original cycle.[6] Accounts with custom pricing or a signed contract may need Zoom Support to reduce licences.[4] Catalog proof: Minimum quantity maintained for the term; Licence reductions take effect at the end of the billing cycle.
Charges, price changes and promotions
“Charges” covers set-up fees, one-time and recurring fees, subscription fees, “overages, per-use charges” and any other fees on the account.[1] All payments are non-cancelable for the current term and final and non-refundable, unless Zoom agrees otherwise, the law requires it or the Order Form says so.[1] Zoom may change prices at any time, with at least 30 calendar days’ Rate Change Notice. Unless the Order Form prohibits it, the change takes effect at the next Renewal Term. A customer that does not terminate or modify the affected Services within the notice period is deemed to accept the change.[1] Promotional rates and discounts may expire under the offer’s terms or at the start of a Renewal Term, and may do so without further notice.[1] Standard support and standard updates are included at no extra cost, but Zoom reserves the right to charge for premium features.[1] If a payment is more than five calendar days overdue, Zoom may terminate or suspend Services without notice.[1] Catalog proof: Payments non-cancelable and non-refundable; Price changes apply from the next Renewal Term.
Term, renewal and termination
Each Order Form specifies the Initial Subscription Term and any Renewal Term. Renewal Terms begin automatically unless either party gives written notice at least 30 calendar days before the next Renewal Term, or within any notice period the law requires.[1] Notice goes through the billing portal, where available, or by email to renewals@zoom.us.[1] The pricing FAQ describes the same model: plans renew monthly or yearly, and cancelling during the term cancels the auto-renewal.[3] Zoom offers quarterly billing in most cases, and prepaid packages of 1, 2 and 3 years through sales.[3] Catalog proof: Automatic renewal with 30-day notice.
A customer’s termination of a fixed-term Service takes effect on the last day of the current term.[1] The customer may terminate for a material breach that Zoom has not cured within 30 business days of written notice.[1] Zoom may suspend or terminate immediately if the customer fails to comply with the Agreement or referenced policies. It may also terminate “for any reason or no reason” on 30 business days’ advance notice.[1] On termination, all use of the Services and Software must stop. Charges already due remain payable, and charges continue to accrue during a suspension for non-compliance.[1] Customer Content remains available for retrieval for 30 calendar days and is then deleted.[1] Catalog proof: Termination ends use and gives 30 days to retrieve content.
Use rights and restrictions
Software licence. Zoom grants “a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable, non-sublicensable, and royalty-free license” to use the Software in object code on a compatible device, for internal use only and solely to access the Services during the term.[1] The Services are provided on a subscription basis, and the Software and Documentation are licensed, not sold.[1] Catalog proof: Software licensed for internal use during the term.
No sharing. An account, Host rights or other user rights may not be shared with any other individual, and neither may login credentials, unless Zoom pre-approves it in writing.[1] Rights may be reassigned to another individual only when a person’s employment or relationship with the employer ends, or with Zoom’s prior written approval.[2] Catalog proof: Accounts and Host rights may not be shared; Host rights reassignable only on termination of employment.
Prohibited uses. Section 8 prohibits the following:[1]
- reverse engineering;
- building or benchmarking a competitive product, or copying its features;
- using the Services to develop a substantially similar product;
- offering the Services for lease, rent, resale, sublicensing, timeshare or service-bureau use;
- making the Services available to any third party unless expressly permitted.
Catalog proof: No benchmarking or building a competing product; No resale, service bureau or third-party provision.
End users. The customer is responsible for its End Users’ compliance and remains liable for any third party it allows to access the Services.[1] Under the Services Description’s Managed Domains feature, a customer can reserve its domain and bring existing accounts on that domain under its management.[2]
Assignment. The customer may not assign its rights or transfer obligations without Zoom’s prior express written consent. Zoom may assign on a merger, acquisition or sale of substantially all assets, or to an affiliate.[1] Catalog proof: Assignment requires Zoom consent.
Data
The customer owns its Customer Content, subject to the licence it grants Zoom for Permitted Uses.[1] Zoom owns Service Generated Data, meaning the telemetry, product usage and diagnostic data it collects.[1] It may also use aggregated, anonymized data to operate and improve the Services and to produce industry benchmarks.[1] Zoom states that communications-like Customer Content is not used to train Zoom or third-party AI models.[1] Business, enterprise and education account owners whose use requires Zoom to process End User personal data are covered by the Data Processing Addendum.[1]
Disputes
Disputes arising from the Agreement or the Services are resolved by binding arbitration, not in court. The Terms warn that lawsuits and arbitrations have been or may be filed that could affect the customer.[1] Claims may be brought only individually. Class, collective, representative and mass actions are waived, and bellwether procedures apply when 50 or more similar demands are filed.[1] Claims must be filed within one year of arising, to the extent the law permits.[1] Opt-out was available by email within 30 days of April 1, 2023 for existing users, or within 30 days of account creation for new users.[1] California law governs. The courts of Santa Clara County and the Northern District of California have jurisdiction outside arbitration, and proceedings before the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board and similar bodies are not precluded.[1]
Audits and compliance
The Terms of Service contain no clause that entitles Zoom to audit a customer’s licence usage.[1] In a SaaS model, compliance works through other mechanisms:
- The web portal limits licence assignment to the number of licences purchased.[5]
- The no-sharing rule stops one licence from serving several people.[1]
- Zoom may investigate complaints and violations and “take any action, in its sole discretion”, including suspension and account termination.[1]
- Overages and per-use charges are billable Charges.[1]
Customers must report violations they become aware of to trust@zoom.us.[1] The main compliance risks for a software asset manager are therefore:
- shared or generic accounts;
- users keeping paid licences after they have left, since reassignment is limited to termination of employment;
- missing dependencies, such as Contact Center or webinar licences without the base licence they require;
- licence reductions that cannot take effect until renewal.
Catalog proof: Zoom may investigate use and suspend; Licence assignment capped at purchased licences. For cross-vendor practice, see software license audit and license compliance.
Out of scope
- The text of signed Master Subscription Agreements and of the Zoom Reseller Customer Terms of Service.
- Product-specific additional terms, such as the Zoom Events Host Terms of Use, the Marketplace terms and the API License, beyond their mention in the Services Description.
- The Data Processing Addendum and the Privacy Statement.