RTCWEB standardises mechanisms that allow for the transmission of real-time audio, video, and collaboration between browsers. WebRTC sessions can be used to extract audio or video data from the browser if the user doesn’t understand the permissions-granting process. Real-time data streams can facilitate linkable, persistent identification of otherwise anonymous clients. Conferencing sessions that appear to be encrypted to the user may not be fully encrypted end-to-end, allowing the site operator to snoop on or record communications between unsuspecting parties. These gaps may fundamentally compromise people’s privacy and the security of communication channels that people use every day.