Privacy Under Pressure: Comparing 5 Leading Video Platforms in 2025

In 2025, video meetings are everywhere—but so is the data they leave behind.

As privacy regulations tighten and public trust erodes, organizations are increasingly scrutinizing how video platforms handle metadata, user information, and session content. While most tools advertise encryption and compliance, few disclose just how much metadata they collect—or where that data is stored.

For security-conscious teams, the real question is no longer “Is it encrypted?” but “What does the provider know about us—and what do they retain?”

Below, we examine five of the most widely used video platforms in 2025 through the lens of privacy and data minimization.

1. Zoom

  • Data Profile: Stores call metadata, IP addresses, device details, duration, user interactions
  • Privacy Features: End-to-end encryption (opt-in), waiting rooms, meeting locks
  • Deployment: Cloud (U.S.-based infrastructure)

Zoom has improved its transparency since early privacy criticisms in 2020, but it remains a data-heavy platform. Even in encrypted meetings, Zoom collects extensive metadata including device info, network details, participant names, and engagement levels. For many organizations, the trade-off between usability and data visibility is an ongoing concern.

2. Microsoft Teams

  • Data Profile: Deep integration with Microsoft Graph means all user actions, messages, and meeting data are indexed
  • Privacy Features: Conditional access, data retention policies, compliance admin center
  • Deployment: Cloud (with EU data boundary options), hybrid

Microsoft Teams offers strong admin tools and compliance dashboards, but its deep integration into the Microsoft 365 suite comes with extensive telemetry. User behavior, file access, and communication patterns are continuously logged and available to IT administrators and, in some regions, to Microsoft’s cloud analytics services. For some, that’s a feature—for others, a red flag.

3. Cisco Webex Suite

  • Data Profile: Meeting metadata, usage logs, IP addresses, diagnostic and support logs
  • Privacy Features: E2EE v2, optional on-prem hosting, granular policy control
  • Deployment: Cloud, hybrid, on-prem

Webex offers one of the most privacy-configurable environments—especially with on-prem options—but out of the box, its cloud service collects a standard set of telemetry, diagnostic logs, and user activity data. While this can be minimized by configuration, most deployments still retain considerable metadata for compliance and analytics purposes.

4. by.Video

  • Data Profile: No account, no cookies, no stored metadata—meetings are peer-to-peer and ephemeral
  • Privacy Features: End-to-end encryption, no server-side logging, consent-first workflows
  • Deployment: Cloud (privacy-focused European infrastructure)

by.Video takes a radically different approach: it doesn’t just encrypt sessions—it forgets they ever happened. Built on a privacy-by-design architecture, it collects no personally identifiable information, stores no session metadata, and requires no login or download. Every meeting exists only in the moment, making it ideal for professionals handling sensitive or regulated conversations who want true digital confidentiality. by.Video complies with GDPR and HIPAA.

5. Google Meet

  • Data Profile: Integrated with Google Workspace logs, stores meeting times, participants, calendar data, device/browser info
  • Privacy Features: Encrypted by default, secure participant controls, access management
  • Deployment: Cloud (U.S. and EU regions depending on plan)

Google Meet is fast and convenient, especially for Workspace users—but it comes with deep integration into the broader Google ecosystem. Calendar metadata, user behavior, and cross-app signals feed into organizational analytics and admin dashboards. While that may improve productivity, it can also conflict with strict privacy or data sovereignty requirements.

Final Thoughts

Most video platforms today prioritize performance and productivity—but often at the cost of privacy. Session metadata, usage patterns, device details, and user identity are routinely logged, stored, and analyzed.

For teams where confidentiality is mission-critical, tools like by.Video represent a return to basics: encrypted communication with no lasting footprint.

July 8th, 2025 by