Zoom will be lifting its 40-minute meeting limit for free accounts globally in recognition of several upcoming holidays, the company confirmed to The Verge. The limits will be removed in recognition of Hanukkah, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and Kwanzaa. The company similarly lifted its 40-minute limit last month for Thanksgiving Day.
Here’s exactly when Zoom will be removing the 40-minute limit:
- 10AM ET Thursday, December 17th, to 6AM ET Saturday, December 19th, for the end of Hanukkah
- 10AM ET Wednesday, December 23rd, to 6AM ET Saturday, December 26th, for Christmas Eve and Christmas
- 10AM ET on Wednesday, December 30th, to 6AM ET on Saturday, January 2nd, for New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and the end of Kwanzaa
Normally, meetings with three or more people hosted on Zoom’s free tier can’t last longer than 40 minutes. If you wanted to talk longer, you’d have to go through the hassle of starting another meeting and getting everyone to join again. By removing the limit for these holidays, hopefully virtual meetups with friends and family can be less focused on the clock and more on catching up with loved ones.
If you prefer to use Google Meet to connect with family and friends, that’s an option, too, as Google is letting free users host calls that last for up to 24 hours through March 31st, 2021.