You can join Zoom meetings on your browser without creating an account. It's a bit off the beaten path:

1. Go to zoom.com 2. Click "Join a meeting" 3. Enter meeting id and click Join 4. Ignore the automatic app download 5. Go back 6. Click "Join a meeting" again 7. Enter meeting id and click Join again 8. Ignore the app download again 9. Click at "If nothing prompts, click here" 10. Click "Join from your browser" 11. Agree to terms of service 12. Enter password and name, click Join

Ahh, so this is that "it just works" Zoom experience I've been hearing so much about recently.

The "it just works" experience is for people using the native app. :)

Not saying you should do that, but that's why there's a difference.

I don't use Zoom myself, but some friends that do have been using this: https://github.com/arkadiyt/zoom-redirector

Seems to work for them, and gets around that whole song and dance you described.

This is only true if "your browser" is Chrome. If you try in the latest Firefox or Safari it tells you to try a "modern browser".

It stopped working if the meeting has over 50 people.

Is that just for new people coming in after the 50th? Or do they boot anyone who's logged in via browser once it hits 50?

It's improved a bit, and actually works fine in Firefox Nightly right now, but you have to craft the web client URL directly. The UI will try its very best to make you download the client.

Seen somewhere else: when you get to the web page that launches the app, don't allow that launch, hit (IIRC) "Retry", still don't allow it, and the page should say "Having trouble?" offer a link to the web version.

Or better yet, don't use Zoom...

I've joined plenty of Zoom meetings without creating an account. Are you sure it wasn't just asking you to enter your name and email in the page so people on the call would know who you are when you joined?