# Using the Waiting Room
<a name="waiting-room"></a>

When anonymous users try to join an Amazon Chime meeting, they automatically go to the Waiting Room, and the **Waiting Room** section appears in the **Attendees** panel.

You become an anonymous user when:
+ You don't have an Amazon Chime account.
+ You have an Amazon Chime account, but you don't use your account credentials to sign in.

External users who are registered and signed in but not part of the meeting organizers Amazon Chime group also go to the Waiting Room. However, the meeting organizer can choose to let external users skip the Waiting Room. For more information about doing that, see [Allowing external attendees](understand-mtg-options.md#allow-external), in this guide.

Authenticated users always join Amazon Chime meetings without going to the Waiting Room. You become an authenticated user when:
+ You use your Amazon Chime credentials to sign in to the meeting and you belong to the same Amazon Chime group as the organizer.
+ The organizer includes `meet@chime.aws` in the meeting invitation and adds you to the attendee list.
+ The organizer makes you a delegate or a moderator.
+ You're the organizer.

For more information about delegates and moderators, see [Creating delegates](delegates.md) and [Scheduling moderated meetings](moderate-meeting.md), in this guide.

**Topics**
+ [Visual quick start guide](wr-quick-start.md)
+ [Admitting or denying anonymous users](admit-deny-anonymous.md)
+ [Turning the Waiting Room off or on](turn-off-waiting-room.md)
+ [Leaving the Waiting Room](leave-waiting-room.md)