Zoom is the leading videoconferencing platform. Everything is now possible remotely, and organizations have remote employees, conferences, interviews, etc. When on Zoom, you may notice your words appearing backward.
It could be you wrote something on a piece of paper, then when raising it to show someone, you notice the display you see has the words backward. Why is this happening? Can you fix it?
Zoom utilizes the mirroring effect by default whenever someone is on a video call. The mirroring effect makes your camera appear flipped, but the viewers will get a clear view of your camera with the correct orientation. However, on your end, you will see your words appearing backward. If you find this distracting, turn off the option for mirroring your video.
We will discuss the mirroring effect on Zoom and how it affects the camera view on Zoom. Moreover, we will cover the steps for turning off the mirroring effect on Zoom to attain the correct orientation on your end. We will also discuss questions asked about the Zoom mirroring effect.
Why Are Words Backward on Zoom?
When using Zoom for conference calls, you may notice your camera appearing flipped and texts you are showing on paper or another physical object appearing backward. This effect is referred to as the mirroring effect on Zoom. When viewing yourself on the Zoom camera, you will notice all your movements will appear mirrored.
Zoom uses the mirroring effect to give the correct orientation to everyone who views your webcam. Hence, your camera may appear flipped by everyone viewing you on Zoom will see everything, including text, in the correct presentation. The drawback, however, is that this feature may be distracting, affecting your concentration while on the Zoom call.
When sharing a physical object, such as a notebook, by holding it up, it makes sense that you may want to turn off the mirroring effect to avoid Zoom showing your words backward. Although the text may appear backward on your side, everyone else will see the text without appearing backward.
How To Turn Off Mirroring on Zoom
The mirroring effect can affect your concentration. If you are uncomfortable mirroring your video, you can disable it from the Zoom settings on your desktop. The same steps will work when you want to stop Zoom from inverting your video in a call.
Here’s how to turn off mirroring when on a Zoom call.
- Open the Zoom desktop client.
- When on a Zoom call, click the up arrow next to the Start/Stop video button.
- Find the option for “Video Settings” and click on it.
- On the settings window, click on the option for “Video.“
- Disable the option for “Mirror my video.“
Once you’ve unticked the mirroring effect, Zoom won’t display your words backward anymore. Instead, you will get the correct camera orientation.
Conclusion
Zoom has a mirroring effect that makes your camera appear flipped, causing the text you display by raising it on your webcam to appear backward. This mirroring effect only affects your view.
People viewing your webcam will have the correct video orientation. We’ve discussed why your words appear backward and offered the steps to disable this feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you notice Zoom displaying your words backward and your camera appears flipped, the mirroring effect is enabled on Zoom. The mirroring effect helps in achieving a quality view of your webcam. Everyone viewing you on Zoom will see your videos and text in the correct orientation. Only your end will show the text backward.
Yes, you can. Mirroring is enabled by Zoom when you are on a call. You can disable it from the Zoom settings if you find it distracting. So, open your Zoom desktop client and access your account. Join a Zoom call. On the call window, find the Start/Stop video button and click the up arrow. On the menu that appears, click the video settings. Next, tap on video on the next window. Locate the mirror my video option and uncheck it.
No, they don’t. The mirroring effect only displays words backward on your end. Everyone else will view your webcam in the correct orientation without the mirroring effect affecting their view. So, don’t panic seeing Zoom showing words inverted. The orientation transmits the feeds upright.
