Respond to Zoommodifying in a Zoom Meeting

Issues

  • My Zoom meeting is being disrupted by an uninvited participant
  • Someone is sharing inappropriate content through Zoom screen sharing
  • An unwanted participant joined my Zoom meeting — how do I remove them?
  • How do I stop a Zoombomb attack in progress?
  • How do I lock my Zoom meeting after it has started?
  • How do I prevent participants from sharing their screen during a meeting?
  • How do I mute all participants at once in Zoom?

Environment

This article applies to Bowdoin faculty, staff, and students who host or co-host Zoom meetings. These steps are for responding to a disruption in an active meeting. For steps to prevent Zoombombing before it happens, see Secure a Zoom Meeting in the Related Articles section.

Resolution

What is Zoommodifying? Zoombombing is when an uninvited participant enters a meeting and uses screen sharing, chat, or audio to disrupt it. The steps below give you several tools to shut down the disruption quickly.

Use the Security Button (Fastest Response)

The Security button in the meeting toolbar gives you one-click access to all in-meeting security controls. It is the fastest way to respond to a Zoombomb in progress.

  1. In the meeting toolbar at the bottom of the screen, click Security.
  2. From the Security panel, take one or more of these actions:
    • Lock Meeting — Immediately prevents anyone else from joining. Use once all legitimate participants are in the room.
    • Enable Waiting Room — Moves all new joiners into a waiting room so you can screen them before admitting.
    • Suspend Participant Activities — Mutes all participants, stops all video and screen sharing, and locks the meeting in one action. This is the most effective single step during an active disruption.
Suspend Participant Activities stops all participant video, audio, and screen sharing — including legitimate attendees. Use it to immediately halt the disruption, then re-enable audio and video for your actual participants.

Remove a Specific Participant

  1. If the Participants panel is not visible, click Participants in the meeting toolbar.
  2. Hover over the name of the participant you want to remove.
  3. Click More, then click Remove.
Prevent rejoining: By default, a removed participant cannot rejoin the meeting. If you have the "Allow removed participants to rejoin" setting enabled, disable it before removing anyone.

Stop a Participant's Screen Share

If an unwanted participant has started sharing their screen, click Security in the toolbar, then disable Share Screen under "Allow Participants To." This stops the current share and prevents all participants from sharing until you re-enable it.

Mute All Participants

  1. Click Participants in the toolbar to open the Participants panel.
  2. At the bottom of the panel, click Mute All.
  3. In the dialog that appears, uncheck Allow Participants to Unmute Themselves if you want to prevent anyone from unmuting without your permission.

Lock the Meeting

Once all your expected participants have joined, locking the meeting prevents anyone else from entering — even if they have the meeting link and passcode.

  1. Click Security in the meeting toolbar.
  2. Click Lock Meeting.
No notification when locked: When the meeting is locked, you will not receive an alert if someone tries to join. Unlock the meeting following the same steps if a legitimate participant arrives late.

Additional Help

If you need further assistance, you have several options:

  • Bowdoin Bot: Chat with Bowdoin Bot directly from any KB page for instant answers.
  • Phone: Call the Bowdoin College Service Desk at (207) 725-3030.
  • In person: Visit the Tech Hub in Smith Union during business hours.
  • Submit a ticket: Request assistance through the Service Catalog.

Additional Resources

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Related Articles (3)

Recommended Zoom Meeting Settings
Recommended Zoom meeting settings for faculty and staff hosting synchronous meetings or classes, covering meeting ID, security, audio, video, and participant options.
Secure a Zoom meeting
Three methods for securing a Zoom meeting against unwanted participants — restricting access to Bowdoin accounts, enabling a waiting room for public meetings, and requiring a passcode.
Zoom Meeting Roles: Host, Co-Host, Alternative Host, and Participant
A reference table comparing what the host, co-host, alternative host, and participant roles can do in a Zoom meeting, covering participation controls, participant management, and recording permissions.