The Most Secure Meeting App for Your Team

In the digital age, it’s more important than ever for our meetings to be secure. Employees and managers alike use meeting applications to discuss sensitive matters including, but not limited to, financials, business goals, and employee performance. 

Each application has its own set of measures to reduce security vulnerabilities so employees can rest assured their meetings are confidential. Read on to learn more about popular meeting applications, which security features you should look out for when selecting one, and how you can use Fellow to level up your meetings securely. 

Types of meeting apps 

1Video 

• Google Meet: Meet is Google’s video conferencing service. Meet is available on the web, and for Android and IOS. Meeting participants can join Meet calls on any device from anywhere to host large and small virtual events, presentations, and collaborative sessions. According to Google Meet’s website, Meet uses Google Cloud’s secure infrastructure to protect data and safeguard user privacy. Video conferences are encrypted in transit, and their safety measures are continuously updated for added protection. Use Fellow’s Google Meet extension and bring Fellow meeting agendas and notes into Google Meet automatically to streamline meeting productivity.

• Zoom: Zoom is a communications platform that allows users to connect through video, phone, and audio chat. The platform offers several features to enhance the video conferencing experience—including scheduling and participation tools, and engagement controls. To protect user data, Zoom encrypts each video, audio, and screen-sharing session hosted by users. The platform also offers advanced chat encryption and stores all Zoom phone voicemail and recordings processed in Zoom’s cloud recording storage after the meeting has ended for users to control. Use Fellow’s app for Zoom to access your meeting notes inside of Zoom and turn chaotic meetings into productive work sessions. 

• Microsoft Teams: Teams is Microsoft’s messaging and video application. Users can make important phone calls, host meetings, and share files, as well as leverage many other features using the tool. The platform is highly secure with single sign-on (SSO) authentication, data encryption, and third-party security certificates. It is an ideal tool for running meetings and using collaborative features to help manage a team. 

2Productivity 

• ClickUp: ClickUp is a cloud-based collaboration tool that features a variety of communication and collaboration tools, task assignments and statuses, alerts, and a task toolbar. Teams can use the application to organize and schedule weekly meetings, too. All ClickUp web communication applications are encrypted and can’t be viewed by a third party. ClickUp also abides by industry standards for storing, processing, and transmitting users’ personal information online. 

• Asana: Asana helps businesses organize complex work across teams to drive business outcomes. To improve meetings, Asana users can leverage the platform to create meeting agendas and notes. The application takes a “security-by-design” approach to protect user data. Asana’s infrastructure is designed with layers of protection to ensure that data is secure while transmitted, stored, and processed. 

3Collaboration

• Miro: Miro is an online visual workspace for individuals and teams. The application’s goal is to enable distributed, hybrid, and remote teams of any size to design, dream big, and build out their ideas together. The platform is built with user security at the forefront and follows industry best practices for privacy and regulatory requirements. Miro users can protect and manage the intellectual property they create, add to the platform, and take advantage of enterprise-grade functionality and controls to manage projects and teams. 

• Trello: Trello is another visual collaboration tool that empowers teams to manage projects, workflow, or task tracking. Teams can use the application to organize their projects into boards and add files, checklists, or automation. Trello stores files securely and is SOC 2 certified, meaning the organization undergoes routine voluntary compliance standards that specify how the company should manage customer data. A variety of other important security features can be found on their Operations and Security web page. 

Fellow integrates with the applications listed above to improve your meeting management and production workflows. With our integrations, you and your team can streamline task management, collaborate on meeting agendas without leaving your video calls, enhance your meeting notes, and send action items to other platforms for maximum efficiency. 

Security features to look for in meeting apps

1Encryption

Encryption is a way to scramble data so that authorized parties are the only ones who understand the information. In simple terms, encryption takes readable data and alters it to appear random. When reviewing the security features of a meeting application, look for Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 or 1.3 for end-to-end data encryption of voice and video data. You can also ask your service provider if the platform is fully encrypted, which is often a basic requirement that is built into the software itself. Encryption helps protect private information and sensitive data and can enhance the security of communication between client apps and servers. 

2Two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security system that requires two separate, distinct forms of identification to access something. This system neutralizes risks associated with compromised passwords and reduces the likelihood of an account being hacked. When reviewing the security features of an application, make sure the platform allows you to enable two-factor authentication that combines a password, PIN, and a token or code sent to the user’s device by SMS or in-app notifications. 

3Access controls

Access control is a component of data security that dictates who can access and use company information and resources. Access control policies use authentication and authorization to make sure users are who they say they are before allowing them to gain access to company data. Look at each platform’s security program to see if it offers accessible access control functions. Setting up appropriate access controls will help you create a collaborative workplace that protects everyone’s privacy. 

Why Fellow is the most secure meeting app 

1Product security

Product security refers to the efforts that developers undertake when building a secure product. At Fellow, product security is an integral part of our platform. That’s why we support SSO through Google and Office365 and allow for the designation of various administrator, manager, and individual contributor roles within the product. Using your platform of choice, you can benefit from the security of SSO and ensure that information is viewed only by the appropriate individuals. Fellow has secure software development practices in place including, but not limited to, code reviews as well as automated and manual tests that are in place before code is shipped for production. 

2Network and application security 

Our application’s infrastructure is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS has many security designations and a robust security infrastructure. We back up all data on our systems using AWS for 30 days so our team can restore data in the event of a hardware failure. We encrypt all communications between servers and have an incident response plan that is regularly reviewed and updated. Our disaster recovery plan also prepares us to serve you in every circumstance, no matter how unlikely. 

3People security

We take security seriously, and this extends to our employees and customers. All Fellow employees undergo criminal background and reference checks before beginning employment at the company. Employees and service providers sign confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements as well. Customer information is only accessed by our customer support personnel when troubleshooting upon asking permission from the customers. Risk assessment is performed at Fellow on an annual basis or when warranted. Fellow has a risk management policy in place too, alongside risk mitigation strategies. 

4Compliance

Fellow has undergone SOC 2 audits—a procedure that ensures a company’s service provides securely managed data to protect clients’ privacy—by Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) accredited third parties since 2020. The company is proactive about privacy as well and has an on-staff data processing officer, a secure deletion protocol, and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)-compliant data processing agreements. All payment information is collected through the payment card industry (PCI)-compliant application Stripe as well. 

Check out Fellow’s privacy policy for a more detailed guide to the company’s privacy practices. 

Parting advice

Many meeting applications today are available over various networks and connected to the cloud. While this is convenient for companies and users, it does increase vulnerabilities to security threats and breaches. If you and your team are searching for a new meeting application, explore your options and each platform’s security features before making the final call. 
Better yet, connect Fellow with the apps you already use and love for increased efficiency and safety. Use our tool to host productive team meetings and one-on-ones, build collaborative meeting agendas, record decisions, and hold each other accountable without worrying about security—that way, your company, customers, and clients all win!