How to join a Zoom meeting with the camera off | Introducing other useful functions

Also, some people may think that it would be convenient if they could turn off the camera or microphone when they want to temporarily leave their desks.

Zoom is a tool that allows you to talk face-to-face with people who are far away, but you can turn off the camera and have a conversation or screen share. Of course, there is also a function to turn off the sound, so it is very convenient to use it.

This time, I will introduce how to turn off the camera and sound for people who are not very familiar with how to use Zoom.

This article is for people who:

• People who want to know how to use Zoom’s camera off function
• People who want to use Zoom with sound off
• People who are reluctant to have their face shared on Zoom

How to turn the camera off and on in a Zoom meeting

Let’s quickly check how to turn the camera off and on in Zoom.

For those who feel reluctant to show their face and talk to others, or are worried about being recorded by the host, try using Zoom’s camera off/on feature. We recommend that you memorize it.

Switch camera off/on after entering the room

If you want to switch your camera off during your web meeting, click Stop Video in the lower left corner of your screen.

While the camera is off, the profile picture or name registered in Zoom will be displayed to the meeting partner.

If you want to hide your name and show your profile picture, you need the following settings.

1. Log in to the Zoom website (https://zoom.us/jp-jp/meetings.html)
2. Click “Change” displayed to the left of your name in My Profile
3. upload image

If you haven’t registered the photo with Zoom in advance, remember that the name will be displayed when the camera is turned off.

Zoom user registration is required as a prerequisite to registering photos, so either have yourself registered as a user under a contract with your company, or register yourself as a free user from the Zoom website.

If you want to turn the camera back on, click “Start Video” to unmute the camera.

Turn off camera by default

If you prefer to always turn off the camera when using Zoom, you can set it to the default setting in advance.

Setting method: For a personal computer (PC)

1. Log in to Zoom
2. Select “Settings”
3. Select “Video”
4. Check “Turn off my video when joining a meeting”

Setting method: For smartphone app

1. Open the Zoom app
2. Tap “Settings”
3. Tap “Meeting”
4. Set the toggle for “Always turn off my video” to green (ON)

Supplemental information: There is also a way to participate with the beautiful skin function and virtual background

Some people who want to turn off the camera on Zoom may have the following feelings.

“I’m embarrassed because my face is too clear on the camera.”

“I don’t want to show a private space such as my home”

For those who have such thoughts, there is a way to use the “beautifying function” and “virtual background” instead of turning off the camera.

What is Zoom’s beautiful skin function?

Zoom has an appearance correction function. Appearance correction softens the focus and makes skin appear smoother than usual.

Even if you don’t turn off the camera, some people say, “If you have a beautiful skin function, you can participate in a Zoom meeting with peace of mind,” so it’s a good idea to try it out.

Setting method: For PC

1. Log in to Zoom
2. Select “Settings”
3. Select “Video”
4. Check “Improve my appearance” in “My Videos”

The above procedure is for a Windows computer. On Mac, “Enhance Appearance” is displayed as “Apply Video Filters“.

If you want to use Zoom’s beautiful skin function on your computer, you need to use the Zoom desktop client for Windows or Mac.

Setting method: For smartphone app

1. Launch the Zoom app
2. Tap “Settings”
3. Tap “Meeting”
4. Tap “Correct Appearance”

If you want to use Zoom’s skin beautifying function on your smartphone, you will need version 5.2.0 or later of the Zoom app for iOS.

Zoom’s skin beautification function cannot be used on Android.

What is Zoom’s virtual background? Introducing the setting method

A virtual background is a synonymous feature of Zoom that allows you to display any image on your background.

With this function, even if you do not turn off the camera, the other party of the web meeting will not be able to see your private space such as your home.

Even if you are busy with work or housework and have not cleaned up your room, you can participate in a Zoom meeting with peace of mind, which is a great advantage of using a virtual background.

Virtual backgrounds can be used not only on the computer version of the Zoom app, but also on the iOS smartphone app, so you may not need to turn off your camera.

Setting method: For a personal computer (PC)

1. Log in to the Zoom website
2. Go to “Settings” from your profile icon
3. Change the “Virtual Background” toggle to blue (ON)
4. Close settings and return to the meeting screen
5. Click the arrow to the right of “Stop Video” at the bottom of the screen
6. Click “Choose a virtual background”
7. Choose your favorite image from the displayed images

Recently, more and more people are using virtual backgrounds for their own or company branding, and various new ways to use them are emerging, such as displaying names, email addresses, company logos, and business card QR codes in the background.

From version 5.5.0 of the Zoom app for Windows and Mac, it is now possible to blur the background in addition to the virtual background. You can hide the background in a natural way, so use them as needed.

Setting method: For smartphone app

1. Tap “Details” at the bottom of the screen while entering the room
2. Tap “Virtual Background”
3. Choose your favorite image from the displayed images

Note that Android smartphones cannot use Zoom’s virtual background function, so be sure to turn off the camera.

How to use Zoom with sound off

There may be cases where you want to use Zoom not only with the camera off, but also with the microphone off.

If you don’t want to share your voice when using Zoom, select the “mute” mark displayed at the bottom of the screen. If there is a slash through the microphone mark, the microphone is turned off.

To cancel audio off, simply select the mute mark again.

Frequently Asked Questions Related to Zoom Camera Off

Finally, I will introduce Q&A about Zoom’s camera off function.

Is it shared with the web conference host even if the camera is off?

If you turn off the camera, neither the other participants nor the host can see your face.

If you have an account with Zoom, you can have a meeting immediately by sharing the URL, so if you are worried, you can ask your family or friends to actually use the camera off function to check it. If you try it before an important video meeting is held, you can use Zoom’s camera off function with peace of mind.

Can you see the faces of other participants even when the camera is off?

You can see the faces of others in your Zoom meeting even if your device is camera off.

Can the host remotely switch the participant’s camera off?

Even the host cannot toggle the participant‘s camera off.

However, the host can ask the participants to cancel camera off.

The requested participant confirms the request from the host to cancel the camera off in a pop-up, and if they accept this, the camera off is canceled and their own face can be seen.

summary

We introduced how to switch off the camera during a Zoom meeting. If there is no problem with audio-only meetings, you should join the meeting with the camera off by following the steps introduced here.

If you often participate in Zoom with the camera off, we recommend changing the default settings.

Take full advantage of Zoom’s camera-off function to comfortably participate in web meetings and seminars.