Zoom Cloud Storage Rules for Truman Videos

Zoom Cloud Storage

Zoom provided unmatched support for recording, connecting, meeting, streaming, and storage over the past two years.  They have been nimble with changes, supportive in requests for help, and very lenient in the case of storage over-runs.  The time has come for Zoom to make some changes regarding their pandemic policies and they will soon begin enforcing their storage quotas on the Zoom cloud.  This will have a significant impact here at Truman and will require action by June 1, 2022 for those who use Zoom cloud storage.  We are estimating that for most users who want to save some recordings, addressing this will take about 1 hour of effort.  Instructions below.

The Issue…

Due to these newly enforced storage limitations, we must clear out older recordings and implement new local policies to enable us to stay within our quotas moving forward.

If you have Zoom recordings from the year 2020 or earlier in the cloud that you would like to retain access to, then it is vital that you get these moved somewhere else before the first deletion date of June 1, 2022. If you do not store your recordings on the Zoom cloud, or if your files are already backed up elsewhere, e.g. your local hard drive, YouTube, etc., then we still suggest that you double-check to make sure you have saved everything you want.

Note, Zoom recordings made in Blackboard using the Zoom tool option, ARE stored on the Zoom cloud and are NOT backed-up elsewhere.

The Options…

For optimal performance, ease of sharing, flexible permission control, and unlimited storage space, we recommend downloading those exceptional recordings you really want to save and re-uploading them to YouTube. Google Drive may also be an option, but is less feature-rich and may soon have limited space as well. Both of these platforms offer privacy settings that let you easily define who you’d like to share your recordings with. Just a friendly reminder that you must not upload/store video files on Blackboard.

You may choose to download and store your files on local or removable hardware, such as a USB flash drive or your local hard drive – at least temporarily. Just note that this option will not work as a method of sharing recordings to your students, only in storing them.

In our testing, we have found that it should be possible to check, choose, and download 30 videos in approximately one hour, so we hope the task won’t be terribly onerous.

The Timeline…

We will be clearing the Zoom Cloud storage in phases based on the recording date, allowing for extra time to get newer files moved.

 Our full timeline is as follows and requires action by the beginning of Summer Session.

Phase 1 – 2020 and Earlier Recordings:  Recordings made in the year 2020 or before – will be deleted on 06/01/2022

Phase 2 – 2021 Sessions:  Recordings made in the year 2021- will be deleted on 10/17/2022

Phase 3 – 2022 1st half:  Recordings made from January 2022 through June 2022 – will be deleted on 12/23/2022

Phase 4 – Beginning January 2023, an automated script will be activated to do a rolling deletion of recordings that reach an age of 180 days (roughly 6 months).  This should provide sufficient time to share a full semester’s worth of recordings from the Zoom Cloud and time to curate those you wish to save and share on a more permanent basis.

Ultimately, the goal is to not consider the Zoom Cloud as long-term storage.

Help and Support…

Self-Help Resources

The Learning Technologies Team has recorded and curated a number of videos and how-to guides on working with your Zoom files – topics range from downloading the files, to multiple methods of editing, to uploading to other platforms.

Working with Zoom Files Resource Page

Guided Help 

In May, the Learning Technologies Team will host two workshops on Zoom file maintenance basics. Team members will be available to work directly with you and help you get started.  We recommend bringing a flash drive or portable hard drive to store your files.

If you cannot make it to a workshop, remember, we do have a video documentation that goes over how to download your Zoom recordings.

Workshop Details

Wednesday, May 4, 2022 (Reading Day), 12:30p – BH201

Tuesday, May 10, 2022, 10a – BH201

Individual Appointments

You may contact the Learning Technologies Team for a one-on-one consultation appointment if you have further questions or need assistance and can’t make the work sessions.  Please note that the team cannot provide Zoom video curation as a service without the video owner’s direct participation.

Request an appointment: