How to Pin Someone on Zoom

Zoom’s video conferencing platform offers various features, like the “Pin Video” option. This feature allows you to enlarge and center a particular participant, placing the other participants in the background. Are you interested in finding out how it all works? This article explains everything you need to know about the Zoom pin feature, starting from how to pin and unpin someone, why the feature is important. We’ll also find out if it’s possible to know when someone has pinned you on Zoom.

Let’s get started.

How to Pin Someone on Zoom

Different devices have slightly different methods of accessing the pin feature. This section will walk you through using the feature on Windows, Mac, and mobile devices.

First, your meeting has to have a minimum of two participants to utilize the pin feature. You can pin a maximum of nine videos on your screen.

It’s important to note that it’s not possible to pin users from an iPhone, but the functionality is available if you access Zoom from your iPad.

Pinning on an Android or iPhone

You will most likely be using the platform’s mobile app on these devices. Before getting started, you will need to ensure that your controller for Zoom Rooms has been set up. You can do this by downloading the Zoom Rooms controller app from the Zoom website.

1.You can then proceed by following the instructions below:Open Zoom on your device and start a meeting or join an already existing one.

2.Tap on the “Manage Participants” icon on your screen to show all the people participating in the meeting.

3.Select the participant’s name and click on the “Select Video” option available on the right-hand side of the screen.

4.The selected user will now be pinned on the top of your screen.

Pinning on Your PC (Windows and Mac)

1. Open the Zoom desktop client and start or join a meeting.
   
2. Hover your mouse pointer over the participant’s video that you would like to pin.
3. A menu with three dots will become visible on the top right-hand corner of the participant’s video. Click on it once it appears.
   
4. Select “Pin Video” from the dropdown menu that appears.
   
5. The participant’s video will automatically be brought to the foreground of your screen.
   

Is It Possible to Know if Someone Has Pinned You on Zoom?

Many Zoom users are curious to find out if it’s possible to know whether a participant has pinned them on their screen. The answer is no. Zoom does not send users notifications when other participants pin their videos.

Pinning videos is a local action, meaning that it only affects your screen view and not that of other participants on the call. It will also not show up in their recordings of the meeting or on the cloud recording of the session.

Some people believe that a notification is sent out to the participant once their video is pinned, but that is simply not the case. However, notifications are sent if you choose to record a user.

Pinning Etiquette on Zoom

Zoom, by default, switches the main view to the last speaker, but sometimes this might not be the person some users are most interested in. This is particularly true for hearing-impaired participants who would rather follow along with the ASL interpreter.

Therefore, the pin feature comes in handy when picking out a particular participant that you wish to keep as the focal point of your meeting. However, some people are uncomfortable being the center of attention, especially if they aren’t conducting the session. It’s easy then to see why many users on the platform would like to find out if their colleagues have pinned them.

As there is no way to find out if you or someone else has been pinned during the meeting, the proper etiquette here would be to respect everyone’s privacy and only pin others when that is an essential part of your Zoom experience.

Additional FAQs

What Happens When You Pin Someone on Zoom?

Once you have pinned a participant, videos of the other users are minimized into thumbnails in the background. Your pinned participant is brought into focus, allowing you to pay closer attention to the user. This feature comes in handy if the participant is giving a presentation.

Pinned videos remain active on your screen even when others on the call are speaking. Pinning essential disables the active speaker view and instead brings your pinned video to the foreground.

How Do You Unpin a Video on Zoom?

Unpinning a video is a pretty straightforward process.

1. On the top left corner of the pinned video, you will see the “Unpin Video” option.

2. Click on this icon, and you will return to the “Active Speaker” layout.

What Is the Difference Between Pinning and Spotlighting?

Many people are unclear about the pinning issue because they may be confusing it with spotlighting. Pinning and spotlighting both bring the speaker to the forefront, so it’s easy to confuse one with the other.

Spotlighting is when the host or co-host of the meeting pins a particular video, making it viewable by everyone on the call. Other participants are unable to control this feature. Up to nine videos can be spotlighted at a time. Permission is not required to spotlight participants, so it would be useful to bear that in mind during your next Zoom session.

Hosts tend to use the spotlight feature to ensure everybody can see the speaker. It’s handy in keeping distractions to a minimum, for example, keeping others from unintentionally grabbing the microphone’s attention by coughing or making other such noises.

If you pin a video, you will see it on your screen irrespective of the spotlighted video.

Setting the Record Straight

Zoom has some amazing features, all geared towards making it easier for businesses and organizations to have meetings even when the participants are in different locations.

With their “Pin Video” feature, the platform has made it simple for participants to adjust and control the view of their screen. Although this makes the session less challenging to follow, it might make some of your colleagues uncomfortable. For all that it brings to the table, there is currently no way to know if you have been pinned on Zoom.

Do you find the pin feature useful? Did you want to find out if someone has pinned you on Zoom? Let us know in the comments section below.