Zoom is removing its 40-minute limit for video chats on Thanksgiving

• Zoom is removing its 40-minute video call time limit for Thanksgiving 2020, starting at midnight on November 26.
• The change comes as coronavirus cases in the US continue to climb and health officials urge Americans not to travel this Thanksgiving.
• Zoom is calling the gesture a "thank you to our customers." The video chat software has exploded in popularity this year as the pandemic sent millions home.

With coronavirus positivity rates continuing to rise across the United States, millions of Americans are doing Thanksgiving virtually this year.

But Thanksgiving celebrations tend to be hourslong affairs, and the free version of Zoom that most people are using has a hard limit of 40 minutes per meeting.

In a very Thanksgiving 2020 twist, Zoom is eliminating the time limit on calls starting at 12 a.m. ET on Thanksgiving and going to the next day at 6 a.m. ET.

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—Zoom (@zoom_us) November 10, 2020

As coronavirus quarantines sent millions of Americans home starting in March, Zoom video calling software exploded in popularity — in April, the company reported 300 million daily meeting participants.

Read more: These charts show how use of Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Zoom has skyrocketed thanks to the remote work boom

It's become the default video software for students and workers alike, and the company previously lifted time limit restrictions due to the ongoing pandemic.

The United States has the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, with nearly 12 million positive cases. At least 250,000 people have died from the disease in the US, according to the World Health Organization.

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