«Zoom» is focused on the new version of the application.

Zoom said it will release an improved version of its wildly popular video conferencing app this week.

It comes after issues with the company’s data protection and privacy measures came under scrutiny.

The firm said Zoom 5.0 will include upgraded encryption features to help protect data and ward off so-called “zoombombing.”

The platform is currently used by hundreds of millions of people for work and leisure as restrictions are imposed around the world.

“We will earn our customers’ trust and delight by focusing on providing the most secure platform possible,” said Zoom CEO Eric Yuan.

Zoom has come under fire for a number of privacy issues, including sending user data to Facebook, falsely claiming the app is end-to-end encrypted, and allowing meeting organizers to track attendees.

One of the app’s most high-profile problems was “zombombing” incidents where uninvited guests crashed meetings. This has led to several companies, schools and governments stopping using the platform.

There is debate in the UK over whether the government should use Zoom for cabinet meetings after Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted a photo that included the ID number of the last meeting.

It was also reported that Elon Musk has banned the use of Zoom for SpaceX meetings due to security reasons. Nasa, which is one of Space X’s largest customers, also does not allow employees to use it.

Meanwhile, Singapore suspended the use of video conferencing tool Zoom by its teachers following a “very serious incident” during a home-based lesson.

Earlier this month, Zoom said it would pause development of any new features to focus on security and privacy issues.

Mr Yuan apologized for the “shortcomings” on security issues and promised to address the problems, saying Zoom use had surged in ways he could never have foreseen before the coronavirus pandemic.

This comes as the number of daily users increased to 200 million from 10 million in less than three months.

At the same time, New York’s attorney general reached out to the firm, expressing concerns about its ability to handle user growth.

In a letter from the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, Zoom was asked whether it had reviewed its security measures as its popularity grew. He also pointed out that the app has been slow to resolve issues in the past.

In response to a BBC request for comment, a company spokesman said: “Zoom takes the privacy, security and trust of its users very seriously.”