Zoom Meeting API create or update meeting endpoints not respecting alternative hosts email notification flag

ynoor · November 16, 2023, 9:31pm

Hi,
We are using Zoom Meeting API to create/update Zoom meetings. But, we want to restrict alternative hosts from getting emails from Zoom. Hence, we are sending Zoom Meeting API with these settings in the following endpoints:

POST /users/{userId}/meetings
Link: Zoom Meeting API

{
  ....
  "settings": {
    ....
    "alternative_hosts": "example1@host.com;example2@host.com",
    "alternative_hosts_email_notification": false,
    "email_notification": false,
    ....
  },
  ....
}

PATCH /meetings/{meetingId}
Link: Zoom Meeting API

{
  "settings": {
    "alternative_hosts": "example2@host.com;example3@host.com"
  }
}

OR

{
  "settings": {
    "alternative_hosts": "example2@host.com;example3@host.com",
    "alternative_hosts_email_notification": false,
    "email_notification": false,
  }
}

Unfortunately, all of our alternative hosts are getting emails no matter what we set for the alternative_hosts_email_notification and email_notification flags in the create / update meeting endpoint. In fact, if we drop and add the same alternative host back using the update meeting endpoint, all alternative hosts get meeting invitation emails again (the first invitation is sent during meeting creation). So I am not sure what’s going on.

Please help.

Note: I have searched your changelog and found that this issue was fixed in the Zoom-One-January-24-2022 bug fixes. But it doesn’t seem to be working anymore. See the Bug Fixes section for: “Fix an issue where updating a meeting via API would always send an email notification to the alternative host, regardless of the alternative_hosts_email_notification parameter’s value in the POST /users/{userId}/meetings API.”

Thanks
Yamin

elisa.zoom · November 17, 2023, 5:34pm

Hi @ynoor
Thanks for reaching out to us! I see that you are having issues when creating/updating meetings and you do not want the alternative hosts to get an email upon meeting creation.

I was not able to replicate this on my end. I am able to schedule a meeting and the alternative hosts are not getting email notifications
Could you please share with me the entire request body you are sending upon meeting creation so I can replicate this on my end

ynoor · November 17, 2023, 6:14pm

Here’s the data for meeting creation:

{
  "default_password": true,
  "password": "secret password",
  "topic": "some topic",
  "agenda": "some agenda",
  "settings": {
    "waiting_room": true,
    "meeting_authentication": true,
    "host_video": false,
    "participant_video": false,
    "join_before_host": false,
    "mute_upon_entry": true,
    "auto_recording": false,
    "breakout_room": {
      "enable": false
    },
    "approved_or_denied_countries_or_regions": {
      "approved_list": [
        "US"
      ],
      "enable": true,
      "method": "approve"
    },
    "alternative_hosts": "person1@example.com;person2@example.com",
    "alternative_hosts_email_notification": false,
    "email_notification": false,
    "alternative_host_update_polls": true,
    "watermark": false
  },
  "type": 8,
  "start_time": "2023-11-16T08:00:00Z",
  "recurrence": {
    "repeat_interval": 1,
    "type": 1,
    "end_times": 2
  },
  "duration": 15
}

And here’s the meeting update data we are sending:

{
  "settings": {
    "alternative_hosts": "example2@host.com;example3@host.com"
  }
}

ynoor · November 17, 2023, 6:17pm

Here’s our meeting creation data:

{
  "default_password": true,
  "password": "secret password",
  "topic": "some topic",
  "agenda": "some agenda",
  "settings": {
    "waiting_room": true,
    "meeting_authentication": true,
    "host_video": false,
    "participant_video": false,
    "join_before_host": false,
    "mute_upon_entry": true,
    "auto_recording": false,
    "breakout_room": {
      "enable": false
    },
    "approved_or_denied_countries_or_regions": {
      "approved_list": [
        "US"
      ],
      "enable": true,
      "method": "approve"
    },
    "alternative_hosts": "person1@example.com;person2@example.com",
    "alternative_hosts_email_notification": false,
    "email_notification": false,
    "alternative_host_update_polls": true,
    "watermark": false
  },
  "type": 8,
  "start_time": "2023-11-16T08:00:00Z",
  "recurrence": {
    "repeat_interval": 1,
    "type": 1,
    "end_times": 2
  },
  "duration": 15
}

And meeting update data we are sending:

{
  "settings": {
    "alternative_hosts": "example2@host.com;example3@host.com"
  }
}

ynoor · November 29, 2023, 5:38pm

@elisa.zoom: Any update on this one?

elisa.zoom · November 29, 2023, 5:50pm

Hi @ynoor
sorry for the late reply here! I did not get a notification on my end.
I just did a quick testing on my end and was able to replicate this behavior
But I also was able to disable the setting in the Web portal so the alternative_hosts do not receive an email notification:

Personal Tab > Settings > In Meeting (Advance) > Email Notification and disabled the setting

ynoor · November 29, 2023, 6:18pm

@elisa.zoom Well, that’s a personal setting and we are using Zoom Meeting API to create meetings. So, we cannot ask everyone to turn off their alternative host notification setting in their personal Zoom web portal. It defeats the purpose of using Zoom Meeting API.

Besides that, I see this issue was fixed in one of your bug-fix logs. Maybe something happened in the code that it got reverted. I am referring to this:

" * Fix an issue where updating a meeting via API would always send an email notification to the alternative host, regardless of the alternative_hosts_email_notification parameter’s value in the POST /users/{userId}/meetings API."

elisa.zoom · November 29, 2023, 7:21pm

Hi @ynoor
Thanks for sharing these details again.
I have created an internal ticket for our Engineering team about this
(ZSEE-113069 for reference)
I will update you as soon as I hear back from my team

ynoor · November 29, 2023, 7:39pm

Thanks, Elisa. I hope to hear from you soon.

imdadpg · November 30, 2023, 4:39pm

As of my last knowledge update in January 2022, I don’t have the specific details on the Zoom Meeting API’s behavior with regard to alternative hosts’ email notification flags. However, I can provide you with general guidance on how to approach this issue:

API Documentation: Review the official Zoom Meeting API documentation for the specific version you are using. The documentation should provide details on how the API handles alternative hosts and their email notification settings. Check for any specific parameters related to alternative hosts and notifications.
Update to the Latest API Version: If you are not using the latest version of the Zoom Meeting API, consider updating to the latest version. Zoom may have introduced new features or fixed issues in more recent releases.
Check for Known Issues: Look for any known issues or release notes related to alternative hosts and email notifications in the Zoom API. Sometimes, the Zoom development team may acknowledge specific issues and provide workarounds or solutions.
Review API Request Payload: Ensure that you are providing the correct parameters and values in your API requests when creating or updating meetings. Double-check the payload to confirm that the alternative hosts and their notification settings are properly specified.
Test in a Controlled Environment: Create a test environment where you can experiment with the Zoom Meeting API without affecting live meetings. Test different scenarios, including alternative hosts and email notifications, to observe the behavior of the API.
Contact Zoom Support: If you cannot find a solution in the documentation or community forums, consider reaching out to Zoom support. They can provide assistance and guidance on any specific issues you are facing with the API.
Community Forums: Explore Zoom’s developer community forums to see if other developers have experienced similar issues. Community forums can be valuable resources for sharing experiences and finding solutions.

Keep in mind that the information provided here is based on the status of the Zoom Meeting API up to January 2022, and there may have been updates or changes since then. Always refer to the latest official documentation for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

ynoor · November 30, 2023, 5:34pm

Yes, we are using Zoom’s latest Meeting API (V2) and looking at their documentation here (Zoom Meeting API). We have also sent hundreds of payloads testing on our end in a controlled manner with no success with these flags. We are using server-to-server OAuth and have a webhook setup. Everything else works as intended like meeting creation/updating meetings, getting the list of users, getting the participation records, etc.

According to Zoom’s documentation of the create meeting endpoint (link above)

The description of alternative_hosts_email_notification setting says:
Whether to send email notifications to alternative hosts. This value defaults to true.
The description of email_notification setting says:
Whether to send email notifications to alternative hosts and users with scheduling privileges. This value defaults to true.

We are sending false for both these flags. So we expect to see no emails being sent to the alternative hosts.

elisa.zoom · December 6, 2023, 4:08pm

Hi @ynoor
Thank you for your patience here.
I just wanted to come back to you with an update about this issue.
It looks like this is a bug on our end and we will be fixing this in our January Release.
Thank you for your patience and I appreciate your help on identifying this issue!
cheers,
elisa

ynoor · December 6, 2023, 4:23pm

Thanks, Elisa. I appreciate the update.

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Zoom Meeting API create or update meeting endpoints not respecting alternative hosts email notification flag

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