Navigator.geolocation returns Permission Denied in Zoom App Client - Is this still intentional?

Zoom Apps
1

Zoom Apps Configuration

  • Frontend: React (Vite, TypeScript)

  • Backend: Spring Boot 4.0.0 (Java 21)

  • Environment: Zoom Desktop Client on Windows 10/11

Description Hello,

I am developing a Zoom App for employee attendance checking. I implemented a feature that utilizes navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition() to retrieve the user’s current coordinates for location verification.

However, when running the app inside the Zoom Desktop Client (Windows), the API immediately fails without showing any permission prompt to the user.

I found an old forum thread from 2022 titled “Location Sharing in Zoom Apps” which stated that:

“navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition is automatically denied… this is intentional”

My Questions:

  1. Is this policy (blocking native Geolocation API) still in effect as of 2026?

  2. Is there a specific method in the Zoom Apps SDK to request user location? I have reviewed the current SDK documentation and could not find any methods related to Geolocation or GPS.

  3. If native GPS is not supported, is IP-based geolocation the only recommended workaround?

Error? The navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition method triggers the error callback immediately with:

image
image587×265 12.7 KB

  • Code: 1 (PERMISSION_DENIED)

  • Message: “User denied Geolocation” (even though no prompt was shown)

Troubleshooting Routes

  • Verified that Windows “Location services” are turned ON.

  • Verified that “Allow desktop apps to access your location” is enabled for Zoom in Windows settings.

  • Tested the same App URL in a standard Chrome browser, where it works perfectly (prompts for permission and retrieves coordinates).

  • Searched the Zoom Apps SDK documentation but found no APIs exposed for location services.(geolocation, location, user position, etc…)

  • Searched the forum and found the 2022 thread confirming this was intentional at the time.

How To Reproduce

  1. Launch the Zoom App in the Zoom Desktop Client (Windows).

  2. Trigger a function that calls navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition().

  3. Observe that the error callback is invoked immediately with Code 1.