Zoom adds new emoji, a vanishing pen and more features to your video calls

Video meeting giant Zoom is getting several new features aimed at boosting communication and making it easier to present and manage people on the platform, the company said in a Tuesday blog post. 

The updates for Zoom meetings include more emoji options for Meeting Reactions. Instead of the current six options, you'll see around 40. You'll also be able to choose a skin tone for your emojis. If you use Zoom through your workplace, administrators and account owners will need to enable the full emoji set, and it will require a one-time download. 

A new vanishing pen feature will let you highlight text or objects when sharing your screen. Instead of having to go back and undo or erase those highlights, they will fade over time, so you can keep on presenting uninterrupted. And for those who prefer to use the Zoom app through a tablet, new whiteboard auto-shapes will let you draw straight lines, perfect circles and other shapes as you're whiteboarding during meetings. 

Other updates: If you have a Facebook Portal TV, you can now access the Zoom app through that screen. And if you're a Zoom account owner or administrator, you can add a user's manager to appear on their Zoom profile. 

Zoom's use skyrocketed during the pandemic, as it became the video chat app of choice for millions of people for both work and socializing. With the rise of Zoom also came the concepts of Zoom fatigue, or the exhaustion of spending hours on video chat, and Zoom anxiety, or the stress that can come along with these meetings. 

For more, check out our tips for using Zoom more effectively, and how to change your Zoom background. 

Watch this: Zoom privacy: How to keep spying eyes out of your meetings

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