Managing IM groups

IM management allows admins to assign users in their account to groups that display in the Contacts tab (under All Contacts) in the desktop client and mobile app. There are 3 types of IM groups: 

• Private: Only members can see the group automatically. Users who are not in the group can search for users who are in the group.
• Shared: All people in the account can see the group and members automatically. 
• Restricted: No one can see the group or find the members of the group using search except for those in the group. 

See the Zoom Chat admin guide for instructions on deploying chat for the first time.

Notes:

• If you signed up for a new Zoom account after August 21, 2021; or the New Admin Experience is enabled on your account, IM Groups have merged with User Groups, and appears as Groups. In addition, IM Settings have been moved to Account Settings under the Zoom Chat tab. Learn how to create groups, change group settings, or change chat settings in the New Admin Experience.
• IM groups are different than user groups. 
• When users view IM groups in the desktop client or mobile app (All Contacts section in the Contacts tab), each IM group will only display up to 1,000 users. However, users in each IM group are still searchable based on your IM settings.

This article covers:

• Adding an IM group
• Adding users to an IM group
• Levels of access
• Changing default IM group
• Moving users from one group to another
• Changing advanced settings for an IM group
• Changing IM settings for all groups

Prerequisites

• Paid Zoom account
• Zoom client version 3.5 or later
• Account owner or admin privileges to add or edit IM groups

Adding an IM group

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then IM Management.
3. If IM Groups isn't enabled, click the IM Settings tab and click the IM Groups toggle.
4. Click the IM Groups tab.
5. Click Add IM Group and enter the required information:
   • Group Name: Enter a display name to help identify the IM group.
   • Group Privacy: Select an IM group type.
6. Click Save.

Adding users to an IM group

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then IM Management.
3. Click the name of an IM group.
4. Click Add Members.
5. Enter the first few letters of the email address of the member to be added to the group.
6. Check the box to the right of the correct email address, then click Add.

Levels of access

The following table shows the levels of access based on what type of IM group a user is a member of.

(M) = member of IM group

IM group	View IM group	Search users in IM group
Member of a private IM group
Private IM group (M)	✔	✔
Private IM group		✔
Shared IM group	✔	✔
Restricted IM group
Member of a shared IM group
Private IM group		✔
Shared IM group (M)	✔	✔
Shared IM group	✔	✔
Restricted IM group
Member of a restricted IM group
Private IM group		✔
Shared IM group	✔	✔
Restricted IM group (M)	✔	✔
Restricted IM group

 

Changing default IM group

Changing the default IM group will only affect new users being added. To change the default IM group:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click User Management then Users.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Scroll down to the Change IM Group section.
5. Click the drop down menu labelled Set default IM Group, then select the appropriate name. 
6. Click Save. 

Moving users from one group to another

To move users from one group to another:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click User Management then Users.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Scroll down to the Change IM Group section.
5. Click the drop down menu labelled Switch IM Group, then select the appropriate name. 
6. Click Switch User Group. 

Changing advanced settings for an IM group

To change IM group settings for a specific IM group:

Note: If a user belongs to multiple IM groups, the locked setting takes precedence. If the setting is not locked, then the most restrictive setting takes precedence.

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then IM Management.
3. Click the name of an IM group.
4. Click Advanced Settings below the IM group name.
5. Change these settings:

• Allow users to search others: Specify if users can search for other users in the same account or parent account.
  Note: This setting also applies when users search for others in the Zoom web portal. For example, when users assign alternative hosts to meetings/webinars, pre-assign participants to breakout rooms, or assigning panelists to webinars.
• Allow users to add contacts: Allow users to add Zoom contacts to their contacts directory. Click an option to set the level of access.
• Allow users to chat with others: Allow users to chat with internal or external contacts.  Click an option to set the level of access.
• Third-party archiving: Archive messages and files with a third-party archiving service.
• File transfer: Allow users to send and receive files in direct messages or group conversations.

Changing IM settings for all groups

You can change IM settings that apply to all IM groups:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then IM Management.
3. Click the IM Settings tab.
4. Navigate to the setting you want to change.
5. Click the lock icon  to lock a setting if you want to prevent it from being changed in user settings.

Note:

• Some settings are dependent on certain prerequisites. If you do not see a setting listed for, review the article on the setting to see if your account meets those prerequisites.
• If a user belongs to multiple IM groups, the locked setting takes precedence. If the setting is not locked, then the most restrictive setting takes precedence.

Sharing

Allow users in the account to share these in chat:

• Screen capture
• File transfer
  • Only allow specified file types (optional): Specify the file types that users can send in chat. Zoom desktop client version 5.4.0 or higher is required.
  • Maximum file size (optional): Specify the maximum file size (MB) that users can send in chat and in-meeting chat. Zoom desktop client version 5.4.0 or higher is required.
• Animated GIF images
• Code Snippet
• Audio Message
  

Visibility

• Set Chat as a default tab for first-time users
• Show H.323 contacts
• Link accounts to an organization
• Company Contacts: In the Zoom desktop client and mobile app, display all members in the account.
• IM Groups: In the Zoom desktop client and mobile app, organize contacts by IM group.
• Ungrouped users can search for any contacts: Specify if user who is not in any IM group can search for any contacts in the same domain, the same account, or the same organization. Search results will not include members of restricted groups.
  Note: This setting also applies when users search for others in the Zoom web portal. For example, when users assign alternative hosts to meetings/webinars, pre-assign participants to breakout rooms, or assign panelists to webinars.
• Announcements

Security

• Enable advanced chat encryption
• Enable Personal channel in Chat window
• Allow users to add contacts
  Note: If turned off, users can't add contacts but can still view the company contact directory.
• Allow users to chat with others
• Show status to external contacts: Show users' status to their external contacts.

Storage

• Cloud storage
• Delete local data
• Store edited and deleted message revisions
• Third party archiving*