Keep video scrapers out of your webinars

Video scraping is when third parties record or download proprietary video content without permission and repost it on external websites for profit. Once a video is posted somewhere else it can be difficult to get it taken down, meaning the content owner loses control over who can see it and how long it stays online.

Webinars hosted at universities are a common source of content for video scrapers. There are some simple steps you can take to protect your Zoom webinars and keep your content under your control:  

• Require registration before sharing a meeting link: Don’t post links to virtual events on public websites. Require advance registration so you can review and approve attendees before sharing a link.  
• Review your security settings in advance: Familiarize yourself with standard Zoom security settings like enabling a waiting room for attendees as they arrive and disabling chat or screen sharing.  
• Limit to Harvard community only: If your webinar is intended only for the Harvard community, you can require that attendees are authenticated before joining your webinar.  
• Don’t use or allow third party extensions or bots: Some third-party browser extensions available on app stores may promise useful meeting features—like recording or note taking—but can come at the cost of privacy. Learn how to remove any unwanted attendees.
• Share recordings carefully: Instead of sharing a link to a recording in a mass email after the event, consider requiring authentication via Zoom or hosting the recording on a SharePoint site limited to your intended audience.  

If you need help, or want to report any unauthorized video scraped content, contact the HUIT Service Desk.