Over the last few weeks video calling website Zoom has been accused of privacy concerns: from allegations that the platform is not end-to-end encrypted to claims of non-consensual data sharing with third parties. This has prompted many to look beyond the platform which witnessed an exponential growth in the days since the world locked down to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
While big tech companies, including Google and Facebook, have rolled out improvements to their video calling features, free software alternatives have also emerged. Free software refers to software that allows users control over the program and the freedom to then modify it as they wish.
BigBlueButton is among the open-source video conferencing platforms that has gained popularity in recent times. With accessible features for presentations, the website focuses on online learning. For teachers, the website offers a multi-user whiteboard, chatting options, slide sharing and polling among students.
Given its open-source nature, it can also be integrated into third-party applications, if the user wishes to. On data sharing, the platform states, “We do not sell or rent your Personal Information to third parties for marketing purposes unless you have granted us permission to do so.”
KITE (Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education), the Kerala government’s agency to modernise education in the state, has adapted the BigBlueButton platform for online classes. Following the Centre’s advisory regarding Zoom’s privacy issues, Kerala also plans to begin online training through BigBlueButton.
Jitsi is another platform for voice and video conferencing that is free and open-source for users. Users don’t need an account to use Jitsi. Jitsi meetings are encrypted point-to-point as opposed to end-to-end which means that Jitsi has access to information submitted by the user. The platform describes itself as a ‘set of open-source projects’ that users can develop and adapt to their needs. Jitsi runs on its own servers. This means users can run their own servers too if they don’t trust the provider. It is also available as an app for Android and iOS.
Among other features, Jitsi allows you to lock a room where a call is ongoing with a password. Conferences can also be streamed live on YouTube while note-taking and hand-raising features are also present.
Meanwhile, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), an American non-profit that supports free speech and freedom of the press, has tabulated a list of video conferencing softwares, per various user needs.
According to FPF, Zoom, Google Hangouts (consumer), Google Meet (business), Skype, Microsoft Teams and Slack do not support end-to-end encryption. While Jitsi Meet and Whereby (previously Appear.in) offer different degrees of encryption, platforms that support end-to-end encryption are: Cisco Webex (optional), FaceTime, Signal, WhatsApp and Wire.
Platforms like Google Hangouts (consumer), Google Meet (business), Skype, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Whereby, FaceTime, Signal and WhatsApp do not allow you to self-host, i.e., maintain your own server. However, Zoom (except call metadata), Cisco Webex, Jitsi Meet and Wire allow for self-hosting.
FPF notes that registered accounts are required to join meetings on Zoom, Google Hangouts (consumer), Slack, FaceTime (except iPhone), Signal and WhatsApp. Google Meet (business), Skype, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, Jitsi Meet, Whereby and Wire do not require this.
As for meeting capacity, these platforms offer: Zoom – 100, Google Hangouts (consumer) – 25, Google Meet (business) – 250 (paid versions only), Skype – 50, Microsoft Teams – 250 (paid versions only), Slack – 15, Cisco Webex – 100, Jitsi Meet – 75 (big performance hit), Whereby – 4, FaceTime – 32 (Apple devices only), Signal – 2, WhatsApp – 8 and Wire – 4.