During the Meeting¶

Once your Polyguard-protected meeting is underway, the Polyguard sidebar shows the identity verification status of every participant. This page explains how to open the sidebar, read identity badges, verify participant photos, and handle common situations.

The Polyguard sidebar is where you view participant identity information during a live meeting.

ZoomTeams

While in the meeting, look for the Polyguard icon in the Zoom toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
Click the Polyguard icon to open the sidebar.

Polyguard sidebar in a Zoom meeting

Don't see the icon?

Click Apps in the Zoom toolbar and select Polyguard from the list.

Share the sidebar with candidates

In Zoom, the Polyguard sidebar is only visible to the person who opened it. Consider sharing your sidebar window so the candidate can see the verification information too. Polyguard provides bilateral trust — candidates are being defrauded just as often as hiring companies, so it's important that both sides can verify each other.

While in the meeting, look for the Polyguard icon in the Teams meeting toolbar at the top of the screen.
Click the Polyguard icon to open the side panel.

Polyguard sidebar in a Teams meeting

Don't see the icon?

Click the ... (More actions) button in the toolbar and select Polyguard from the menu.

Sidebar available to all participants

In Microsoft Teams, the Polyguard sidebar is available to all participants, including anonymous ones. Both interviewers and candidates can view verification status, providing bilateral trust — which is important because candidates are being defrauded just as often as hiring companies.

Understanding Identity Badges¶

Each participant in the Polyguard sidebar has a colored badge that shows their verification status at a glance:

Badge	Color	Meaning
Verified	Green	This person has completed identity verification. Their identity has been confirmed.
Pending	Yellow	Verification results are still being finalized. This typically resolves within 30 seconds.
Unverified	Red	This person has not completed identity verification. End the meeting immediately.

Participant list showing different verification badges

Verification happens before joining

All verification takes place before a participant joins the meeting — not during it. However, it can take up to 30 seconds for a participant's verification status to finalize after they join, so you may briefly see a yellow (pending) badge before it turns green.

Participant Details and Photo Verification¶

The full details of each participant are always visible in the sidebar — there's no need to click on anyone. For each participant, you can see:

Full name as it appears on their verified ID
Verification method (e.g., Passport, Government ID, Face Biometric)
Verification timestamp — when the verification was completed
Proof status for each required identity proof

Confirm the photo matches the candidate¶

If a photo verification proof was requested, each participant's badge will include the photograph captured during their latest facial recognition scan. Interviewers should confirm that the photo in the sidebar matches the appearance of the candidate in the meeting. This prevents candidates from verifying their own identity and then having someone else sit down and take the interview for them.

Photo mismatch

If the photo in the sidebar does not match the person on camera, end the meeting immediately and contact your Polyguard administrator.

Participant details visible in the Polyguard sidebar

The sidebar refreshes automatically every few seconds — there's no need to close and reopen it.

Failed Verification Notifications¶

If a participant attempts to join the meeting but fails verification for any reason, a notification will appear at the top of the sidebar with details on what happened.

This is useful because it lets you know that the candidate isn't going to show up — you don't need to wait around for someone whose verification has failed.

Check the notification details

The notification will explain why verification failed (e.g., expired ID, facial recognition mismatch, failed Presence Check). You can share this information with your administrator or reschedule the interview as appropriate.

If a Participant Shows a Red Badge¶

End the meeting immediately

A red (unverified) badge means someone has joined the meeting without completing identity verification. This is a security risk. End the meeting immediately and contact your Polyguard administrator to investigate.