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.

Important: Starting on June 1, 2022, our engineering team will begin the migration and enablement of the New Admin Experience on all accounts. There won’t be any downtime while the migration processes, but the day the New Admin Experience is enabled on your account may vary. Your account owner will receive an email when it completes. In the New Admin Experience, IM Groups have merged with User Groups and appears as Groups. Only follow this article if the New Admin Experience hasn't been enabled on your account yet. If it is enabled, follow the updated user groups article.

Notes:

• 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:

• How to add an IM group
• Levels of access for IM groups
• How to change the default IM group for new users
• How to move users from one IM group to another
• How to change advanced settings for an IM group
• How to change IM settings for all groups
  • Sharing settings
  • Visibility settings
  • Security settings
  • Storage settings

Prerequisites for managing IM groups

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

How to add 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.

How to add 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 for IM groups

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

How to change the default IM group for new users

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 labeled Set default IM Group, then select the appropriate name. 
6. Click Save. 

How to move users from one IM group to another

To move users between IM groups:

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 labeled Switch IM Group, then select the appropriate name. 
6. Click Switch User Group. 

How to change advanced settings for an 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.

To change IM group settings for a specific 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 Advanced Settings below the IM group name.
5. Change any of the following 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.

How to change 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 settings

Allow users in the account to share these in chat:

• Screen capture
• Users can share files in chats and channels (file transfer): Choose if users can send and receive files from anyone (internal and external contacts), users in the same organization, or users in the same account. You can also specify allowed file types and the maximum file size.
• Animated GIF images
• Code Snippet
• Record Audio Message
• Record Video Message

Visibility settings

• 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 settings

• 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.
• Share links to messages and channels in Zoom Chat
• Chat Etiquette Tool

Storage settings

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