The COVID pandemic has made Zoom the app everyone’s talking about. In fact, it now tops lists of the most popular apps for business use.

But that popularity has brought account overload for some. You could have a work and personal account, which complicates things enough. But some people have multiple work accounts, assigned by various employers or clients.

Using multiple Zoom accounts isn’t a problem as long as you can keep them to separate devices. But as soon as you combine accounts on the same laptop or smartphone, you’ll likely find moving between accounts gets a little more complicated. With the right tools, though, you can make it easier to switch from one account to another throughout the day.

The Problem With Multiple Zoom Accounts

You’ve been invited to a nine o’clock Zoom meeting. You open the email and click on the link, only to find you’re signed into the wrong Zoom account. At the last minute, you find yourself scrambling to sign out and in to the correct account to make sure you show up under the correct username.

That describes the biggest issue with multiple Zoom accounts. Since you can access Zoom on a variety of devices, including your smartphone, those multiple accounts can become confusing. If you only access your professional account on your work laptop, you might not encounter any issues, but when you use one device for all of your Zoom activity, multiple accounts can become a problem.

Managing Multiple Zoom Accounts

The good news is, Zoom makes the process of moving between accounts as simple as possible. As with many apps, the key is your profile picture in the upper-right corner of the screen. There, you can either choose Sign out or Switch account. Input your username and password.

This is where things can get confusing, though. Zoom gives you multiple ways to sign up. You can use your email address or you can sign in using your Facebook or Google account. If you use Zoom through your employer and an account admin has configured single sign-on (SSO) access, you can also sign in that way.

All of these methods mean if you’re ever on an unfamiliar device, you might not be sure how you normally log in. if you’re in a rush to log into a meeting as it’s starting, this scramble to figure out your username could go from being a minor annoyance to an embarrassing problem.

How to Create a Second Zoom Account

If you’ve never needed to create multiple Zoom accounts, you might not realize how easy it is. You can have an account for various areas of your life. If you have a particular hobby and regularly interact in groups related to it, a unique Zoom account could give you a username that blends well with those groups. It’s also a great way to keep your Zoom account with the email address you use for that interest.

To create a new Zoom account, you’ll need to use a separate email address. You can also connect to a Facebook or Google account that’s different from your original Zoom account. Follow the below steps to add a new Zoom account, whether it’s your first or your second or third.

• Sign out of your existing account.
• Click Sign up free in the upper-right corner.
• Input your date of birth to verify you meet the minimum age requirements.
• Input the email address you want associated with this additional account.
• You will receive an email from Zoom to the above email address. Open the email and click Activate account.
• You’ll then be able to sign in using the new account.

If you upgrade to a paid account, you can add users as part of a team. This gives other people access to host and participate in meetings within your organizational infrastructure. Here’s how you add accounts as an administrator of a team.

• Sign in to the paid account where you have administrative access to your group.
• Click User management, then Users.
• Select Add users.
• Input the email address for each user you want to add.
• The added users will be sent an email inviting them to create an account.
• Follow up to make sure everyone has accepted the invitation by returning to the User management page later and selecting Pending.

How to Manage Multiple Zoom Accounts Using an App

For those who routinely switch accounts throughout the day, all that logging out and back in again can be a pain. You may find yourself getting confused about which account you should use at various intervals.

The easiest way to move between Zoom accounts is using an app. With the right app, you can switch from one account to another throughout the day as needed. You can even label each shortcut so that you can easily identify which one goes with each account.

Shift is the best app for moving between Zoom accounts on your PC. Once installed, it will create a dashboard that will let you toggle between Zoom accounts as necessary throughout the day. Here’s how to download Zoom and add Zoom (and other apps) to your dashboard.

• Download the Shift app.
• Click + in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
• Choose Add application.
• Either type Zoom in the search bar or navigate to it in the listed apps.
• Give the Zoom account an easily identifiable name and choose a color.
• Repeat the above steps for each Zoom login.

The best thing about Shift is that you can add all your favorite apps to operate alongside Zoom. This lets you move between those frequently used tools throughout the day, saving you the time you normally spend searching for shortcuts on your desktop or in your taskbar.

Like Zoom, you can set up Shift to help you move between multiple accounts on apps like Gmail and Trello. Simply add an icon for each username and give it an identifying name. You’ll spend less time logging in and out of accounts throughout the day, potentially boosting your productivity while also reducing your stress.

Manage Multiple Zoom Accounts Using Multiple Devices

Another option for keeping your Zoom logins separate is simply to use different devices. The most straightforward application of this is when you have a work and personal computer. While you’re working, you’ll already be logged into your business account when you need to join or start a meeting. At home, you won’t have to worry about logging out of your business account because your personal computer will already have that account logged in.

If you have multiple accounts with the flexibility of using whatever device you want, though, keeping your accounts separate could be an easy way to make moving between accounts easy. This is especially true if you have more than one desktop or laptop. You can simply keep both devices handy and when you need to attend a Zoom meeting under a different account, move to the other device.

Another option is to go mobile. If you have a tablet handy, you can easily set up one of your Zoom accounts on it. You may also opt to use the Zoom mobile app on your smartphone, and most of the features are available that way.

But it isn’t always that straightforward. For some users, multiple devices are simply a matter of having access to your applications and files wherever you are. So it might not be easy to keep each account on a dedicated device. Eventually, you might have to switch between accounts on the same device. You may even decide signing out and back in again is easier than shifting to your other laptop or your smartphone.

How to Manage Zoom Accounts on Different Devices

What if you’re on a Zoom call and you need to leave your office? Did you know as a host, you can switch to another device while a meeting is in progress? You can shift from your laptop or desktop to your phone to take the call on the road. This could also come in handy if you start a call on your mobile device and need to move to your computer once you arrive at your destination.

But how do you switch devices mid-call? First, you’ll need to enable the feature on your account through the following steps

• Sign in to the Zoom account where you have administrative access that allows you to change settings.
• Click on Account management in the navigation menu and then choose Account settings.
• Select the Meeting tab.
• Click Allow users to transfer meetings between devices and verify the change.

Before you switch devices, check the secondary device and make sure you see the current call on the list of upcoming meetings. If so, the option to switch should be listed there. You’ll only have this option if you’re either the host or co-host and the capability has been enabled by the account admin. To check and make the switch, follow these steps.

• Sign in to your Zoom account on the other device.
• Go to the Home section and look at the list of upcoming meetings.
• If you can make a switch, the session you’re currently hosting will have the word Switch where Start/Join normally is. If you see Start/Join, the option to switch is not available.
• Click Switch to join from the new device. Once you’ve confirmed you’re connected, you can disconnect on the first device.

How to Merge Your Zoom Accounts

There may come a time when you want to combine multiple Zoom accounts into one. This will allow you to merge all your contacts in one place. Typically, this applies in a business setting, where a departing employee’s account might need to be combined with someone else’s to preserve the data housed in it.

For account administrators, Zoom accounts will need to have the same email domain to be merged. Merging accounts will pull over all contacts, scheduled meetings and webinars, cloud recordings, messaging history, and settings.

For individual users, though, merging multiple accounts isn’t possible. You can, however, link to a signup method you didn’t originally use. If you want to add your email address to an account you started using your Facebook login, you can do so by following the steps here. You can also use this method to link to a Facebook or Google login with an account that uses your email address as the only account authentication.

Zoom Fact and Fiction

Q: Do I need a Zoom account to join a meeting?

A: Fiction. In most cases, all you need is a link to a meeting invite to attend a Zoom meeting. However, meeting hosts do have the option of restricting access to profiles that have been authenticated. In that case, or in cases where you want to create meetings, you’ll need an account.

Q: Can I record a Zoom meeting?

A: Fact. As long as you’re the meeting host and an administrator hasn’t disabled the feature, you can record your Zoom meetings. Zoom will notify attendees that the meeting is being recorded.

Q: Can meeting hosts see what I’m doing in the background?

A: Fiction. There have been some misconceptions over the years, but Zoom has confirmed that meeting hosts can’t hear you if you’re muted, and if you pin a video, they won’t be notified.

Q: Do I need a strong internet connection to use Zoom?

A: Fiction. Video can drag a network connection down, but Zoom is built to automatically scale down when the connection gets weak. Your video quality might not be as crystal clear as you’d like, but you’ll still be able to see and hear meeting participants.

Manage Multiple Zoom Accounts with Ease

Managing multiple Zoom accounts can be easy, but it also can make things a little confusing. Anything that can cause delays as you’re showing up for a meeting can quickly become an inconvenience. Shift is designed to help you keep multiple accounts within a single dashboard. Adding an app is easy, and once you’ve set things up, you can easily toggle between your Zoom accounts while also moving to the other apps you use throughout the day, all in one place. Learn more about Shift and try it out for free here.