Zoom Corrects Blog Saying It Had 300M Daily Active Users, Admits It Was Wrong

Zoom Video Communications Inc. ZM has admitted that a blog post stating it had 300 million daily active users was wrong.

What Happened

The video conferencing app Zoom posted factually incorrect information on a blog post regarding its daily active users, which it has since modified. After initially claiming it had 300 million daily active users, Zoom now says it has 300 million “meeting participants.”

According to The Verge, there is a significant difference between a daily active user and a meeting participant, as the later can be counted multiple times, while the former can only be counted once.

Zoom admitted its error in a statement, “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,” reported The Verge.

Why It Matters

The blog numbers were changed on April 24, after they shot into headlines worldwide, according to The Verge. Zoom has subsequently added footnotes to the blog, which include the changed data and admission to the oversight.
The number of meeting participants on Zoom surged from 10 million in December to 300 million in March. 

Rival Google Meet, an offering from Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG, is adding nearly 3 million users a day and now has 100 million meeting participants. Microsoft Inc.’s MSFT Teams has 75 million daily active users, according to CEO Satya Nadella. Cisco Systems Inc.’s CSCO Webex, drew more than 300 million attendees in March.

Zoom has recently come under fire for security and privacy concerns and has undertaken measures to reassure its user base.

Zoom Price Action

Zoom shares traded 0.24% higher at $135.50 in the after-hours session on Thursday. The shares had closed the regular session 7.72% lower at $135.17.