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223 points maloga | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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eeeeeeeeeeeee ◴[] No.20391053[source]
I couldn't reproduce it (Mac, Mojave 10.14.5). I did this:

1. Ensure Zoom client is not running (the GUI, not the ZoomOpener)

2. Completely delete Zoom client app from /Applications, empty trash

(ZoomOpener continues to run from ~/.zoomus/, not just from memory, it is never deleted)

3. Wait 5 minutes

However, if you click on any Zoom link after you've done those three steps, it will absolutely re-install that client app into /Applications AND launch it into that video room. I confirmed that.

I still feel this is a violation of my trust and I'm uninstalling this app entirely and won't use Zoom again.

Also, if Apple actually cared about the Mac and privacy like they say they do, they would temporarily revoke Zoom's app signing key until they cut this shit out.

replies(5): >>20391115 #>>20391836 #>>20391859 #>>20392126 #>>20392982 #
1. fitzroy ◴[] No.20392982[source]
This is the point of sandboxing apps in the Mac App Store, and (to my understanding) providing simple and complete uninstallation. Mac users that care about issues like this (and I'm not saying they shouldn't) can avoid them by choosing to only install apps from the App Store.

Revoking signing keys on the Mac is pretty extreme considering that Zoom is creator of the software — and that is what the key is meant to prove / enforce. I think that sets a very bad precedent.

The fact that Zoom is distributed outside of the App Store should at least raise eyebrows for Mac users. At this point, I tend to ask what specific functionality is required by an app, such that it wouldn't be allowed in the Mac App Store — especially for free client software (there can be perfectly valid reasons for this, such as previous versions of BBEdit).