Zoom AA With Your Camera Off

Key takeaway

You will not put your face on a screen. Some A.A. meetings are video with faces, some keep everyone's video off, and some are telephone calls. You can listen without speaking. Turning your own camera off is how video meetings generally work, and it is not a rule A.A. wrote.

Last updated: Tue Oct 06 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

You will not show your face. The link has been sitting in a text, or in a listing, and you have not clicked it because a camera in your kitchen feels like a spotlight. Maybe someone you know could be in the squares. Maybe you have been crying. Maybe the room behind you is a mess you do not want as a backdrop. So you are still on the couch, sober or not, telling yourself you will go when you can stand to be seen.

You can go unseen.

A.A.'s meeting information says online meetings come in more than one shape. Some use video and show faces. Some are held with everyone's video off. Some are dial-in conference calls, a phone line with no picture at all. You are allowed to pick the shape you can stand tonight.

A phone, if you want no screen

If the camera is the whole problem, skip video. A telephone meeting is still a meeting. Members decide when and how those calls happen, the same way they decide an in-person room. You dial in, you listen, and you hang up when you are done.

You can sit and listen, or you can share. The newcomer page says that choice is completely up to you. The chair often asks if anyone new wants to introduce themselves. It is not mandatory. On a phone call, silence is easier to keep than in a circle of chairs, and it is just as allowed.

What you will often hear, when other people do say who they are, is a first name. You can let yours stay unsaid. Tradition Eleven, about anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films, is a public matter. It is not a demand that you label yourself on a Tuesday night call.

There are no dues or fees. You do not pay to dial in. If the group mentions contributions, that is voluntary self-support. You can listen for free.

Camera off is a practical habit, not a tradition

Maybe the only meeting at a time you can make is a video meeting. On a typical video app, you can join with your own camera off. That is how video meetings generally work. People do it for work calls and family calls. A.A. did not write a button name into the Traditions, and you should not treat a menu label as fellowship procedure.

Tradition Four says each group is autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole. The group chooses its format. Some groups really do meet with every camera off. That is their format, described in the meeting information as one of the ways online meetings happen. A different group may expect faces because that is the meeting they built. You are not breaking a national law by keeping your camera off. You are also not owed a promise that every chair likes a dark square. If a dark square is what you need, look for the meeting that already runs that way, or use the phone.

The detail view in Meeting Guide can show format and notes the group provided. Read those notes. If the group wrote that video is off, or that the meeting is a conference call, believe the group's words. If the notes say nothing, you still have the practical option on a normal video app, and you still have other listings.

You can keep your microphone quiet for the same reason you can sit in a room and not speak. Listening is the newcomer permission. It is not a special online exception.

What the meeting still is

Faces or no faces, the meeting is members talking about what drinking did to them and to the people around them, what they did to stop, and how they are living now. The purpose is shared experience, strength, and hope. A black square can hear that. A phone at your ear can hear that.

Open meetings are for anyone interested in the program. Closed meetings are for members, or for people with a drinking problem and a desire to stop drinking. The screen does not change that line. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. A camera is not on the list.

Anyone with that desire is welcome, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, income, or profession. The kitchen behind you is not part of the interview, because there is no interview.

After the meeting, people may linger and talk. Online, that can mean the call stays open. Staying is up to you. You can leave the call the moment the meeting ends. If someone offers a number in the chat or out loud, you can take it or ignore it. There is no assignment desk for sponsors. You can attend with no sponsor at all.

If you are in trouble while the call is on

Hang up and call 911 if you are sick, shaking, confused, think you might seize, or cannot breathe. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. Do not stay on a meeting because you already joined.

NIDA says mutual-help groups are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment. NIAAA says alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening when a person who drinks heavily over time stops suddenly. A meeting cannot manage that, on a screen or in a room. FindTreatment.gov lists licensed programs.

Find one tonight

aa.org does not contain a meeting finder. It points you to local A.A. resources and to online meetings. Meeting Guide is free, on iPhone and Android, and the list shows a time, a location or link, and a name. Local entities control the listings. The meetings search here is another door. Listings on this site are not verified, so confirm the link before you depend on it. The online meetings guide and the finding guide go further into the search.

Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you need treatment rather than a call to listen to. That number is a treatment referral line. It is not A.A., and it is not SMART Recovery. The call is free to you. Treatment providers pay for the referral service. The line is not an intergroup.

Tonight, pick a phone meeting, or a meeting with video already off, or join a video call the way video calls usually let you join, with your camera staying dark. Listen. Hang up when you have had enough. Your face can stay yours.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

Common Questions

Can I attend A.A. online without showing my face?

Yes. Meeting information says some online meetings use video with faces, some are held with everyone's video off, and some are dial-in conference calls. You can choose a phone meeting and skip the camera entirely. You can also look for a meeting that already keeps video off. You can sit and listen the whole time. Introducing yourself is not mandatory. The group still sets its own format, so read the listing notes before you rely on a guess.

Is turning my camera off an A.A. rule?

No. On a typical video app, the person joining can keep their own camera off. That is how video meetings generally work. A.A. did not put a button name into the Traditions or the meeting pamphlet. Tradition Four leaves the format with the group, except where a plan affects other groups or A.A. as a whole. If you want a room where cameras are already off for everyone, pick that kind of meeting. A black square is a practical choice, not a law.

Do I have to say my name on the call?

No. The chair often asks if anyone new wants to introduce themselves, and that is not mandatory. You can listen. The newcomer page says sharing or staying quiet is completely up to you. What you will often hear, if others speak, is a first name. You can let your own name stay unsaid. A phone meeting lets you do that without a face on the screen. Hang up when you need to. Staying after is optional.

How do I find a phone meeting or a cameras-off meeting?

aa.org does not contain a meeting finder. It points you to local A.A. and to online meetings. The Meeting Guide app lists in-person and online meetings, with a time, a place or link, and a name. The detail view can show format and notes the group provided. Look there for phone, dial-in, or video-off wording the group actually wrote. The meetings search on this site is another place to look. Those listings are not verified, so confirm the link.

What if I am in crisis while I am on the call?

Hang up and call 911 if you are sick, shaking, confused, might seize, or cannot breathe. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. A video square is not emergency care. NIDA says mutual-help groups are peer-led and not a substitute for treatment. NIAAA says withdrawal can be life-threatening when heavy drinking over time stops suddenly. For treatment, call or text (800) 653-9376. That line is not A.A. and not SMART Recovery.