Technologies

Adding personal pronouns to your Zoom name only takes a minute

Take an important step toward inclusivity by adding your gender and identity pronouns to your Zoom account. Here’s how to do it.

You may have noticed some of your friends and co-workers adding pronouns to the end of their name on platforms like Zoom, Instagram, Facebook and others. Doing so helps make spaces more inclusive of transgender, gender nonconforming and gender nonbinary people by making sure you aren’t assuming anyone’s gender identity based on their appearance, according to GLSEN.

Adding pronouns and avoiding automatic use of binary gender expressions has been a major initiative for a number of tech companies including Google, Twitter and LinkedIn. On Zoom, it’s a quick and easy process, and there’s even a dedicated field for pronouns in your profile.

There are a few ways to set your pronouns on Zoom. You can set your pronouns to display for every meeting or only meetings you select. And if you want to add them after you’ve joined a meeting, there’s an option for that too.

Here’s how to add or change your pronouns on Zoom. (Make sure you check out all of our other helpful tips for using Zoom, too.)

How to permanently add your pronouns to your Zoom account

You can add your pronouns through the web portal or through the Zoom app. If you’re using the web portal:

1. Go to the Zoom web portal and sign in using your SSO, Google, Facebook or Zoom account.

2. Click Profile.

3. In the top right corner across from your name, click Edit.

4. Under Display name, there is a field for Pronouns. For example, mine would be «she/her.»

5. Below that field, Zoom asks how you would like to share your pronouns. You can choose to always share or be asked to share after joining a meeting.

6. Click Save changes.

If you’re on the Zoom app, the process is similar but for a slightly different start.

1. Click your initials in the top-right corner and choose Settings.

2. Then click Profile and Edit My Profile. This should take you to your profile in the web portal. The rest of the process is the same.

3. In the top right corner across from your name, click Edit.

4. Below Display name, there’s a field for you to add Pronouns.

5. Under that field, choose your preferred setting for sharing your pronouns. You can choose to share for every meeting or be asked to share after joining a meeting.

6. Click Save changes.

Your pronouns should appear according to your settings from now on.

How to add or change your pronouns during a Zoom meeting

1. After you enter the meeting, click Participants.

2. In the Participants window, hover over your name and click More.

3. From the drop-down menu, click Rename.

4. Add your pronouns in parentheses after your name, and click OK. Just note that this will only change your name for your current meeting, not any others in the future.

For more, check out how to combat Zoom anxiety and the best gear for online meetings and video chatting.

Technologies

AT&T Says It’s Pumping $250 Billion Into New Infrastructure Improvements

Technologies

Apple’s New Smart Home Display Delayed Until Fall Over Siri Issues

It has been nearly a year and a half since the company announced the AI-powered product.

Your home could get smarter with Apple’s Siri, but it will have to wait a few more months. Bloomberg reported the iPad-shaped AI home hub won’t be ready until September, several months after the company was hoping to launch it this spring. Apple engineers first need to complete work on a new and improved Siri assistant for the home device, code-named J490, according to Bloomberg.

Apple was hoping to release J490 this month, along with a slew of other new devices, including the iPhone 17e, MacBook Neo, MacBook Air M5, new Pro models, and iPad Air M4. Apple first teased the smart home display in November 2024.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Siri is Apple’s virtual assistant that uses voice recognition and AI to fulfill a variety of tasks and commands, along with intriguing uses. You might use Siri to find your iPhone — «Hey Siri, where are you?» — or to hear the weather forecast — «Siri, what will the weather be today?» Siri is available on iPhones, MacBooks and iPads. It was launched in 2011 as a feature of the iPhone 4S.

As CNET reported last month, Apple engineers have struggled to push the upgraded Siri assistant out the door. It isn’t fast enough, gets confused by complex commands and doesn’t interact well with other Apple AI models. The company is also wrestling with how much personal data to access to inform the AI, and the new Siri is not yet able to complete in-app tasks, such as finding a photo and posting it to socials, all with one command.

It has been nearly two years since Apple announced that it would give Siri a major upgrade. In the meantime, competitors like Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home have entered the marketplace.

Tech tester Jon Rettinger, whose YouTube channel has 1.66 million subscribers, says the repeated delays in upgrading Siri can «erode» confidence in Apple’s ability to keep up in the AI race.

«Apple as a whole is still one of the strongest companies on the planet. But their AI play is clearly the weakest link in an otherwise very strong chain,» Rettinger told CNET.

Rettinger said he has had issues getting Siri to complete basic commands, such as setting two alarms at the same time, and that it’s a bit of «a mess» right now.

«Having said that, the iPhone has such massive market penetration that I’m not sure it will actually matter in the end. Which is kind of wild when you think about it,» Rettinger said.

Facial recognition for residents

The hardware for the forthcoming smart home display has already been finished. It resembles an iPad and can be either attached to a wall or rest on a half-domed-shaped base, the Bloomberg report said.

The device will be equipped with facial recognition, so when residents walk up to it, they will be shown personalized data such as music preferences, news headlines, appointments, reminders, tasks and so on.

The screen interface will include a bunch of circular app icons, similar to the display on an Apple Watch. The Bloomberg report said the smart home display will be the first of several home devices by Apple. Future products include a tabletop robotic limb with a 9-inch screen, a smart security camera and a Face ID-enabled smart doorbell.