Zoom offering unlimited video calls for holiday season — these are the dates

best free zoom backgrounds
(Image credit: Zoom)

Zoom promised to make it easier to connect with family over Thanksgiving by scrapping its 40-minute time limit for free users. With even more holidays coming, Zoom is doing it again.

Zoom has released a list of times free users across the world will be able to enjoy unlimited call times, covering Christmas Eve and Day, New Year’s Eve and Day, plus the last day of both Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

Zoom’s free tier normally has a 40-minute time limit on calls of three or more people. Obviously that’s not so convenient when you’re separated from your family over the holidays, and want to get a significant amount of face to face interaction throughout the day. 

So, like Thanksgiving, that time limit is being temporarily waived over the following dates:

Zoom lifting 40-minute call limits: Days and times

  •  10 a.m. ET on December 17 to 6 a.m. ET on December 19 
  •  10 a.m. ET on December 23 to 6 a.m. ET on December 26 
  •  10 a.m. ET on December 30 to 6 a.m. ET on January 2 

Zoom has promised the time limit will be lifted automatically during these three periods, so you won’t have to do anything beyond logging in and calling your family. And of course don’t forget to get your themed-backgrounds ready to add a bit more seasonal cheer to your calls.

Of course if Zoom isn’t your thing, there are plenty more Zoom alternatives out there. So check out the other best video chat apps and figure out if any of them work out better for you. Especially if you want big long calls outside of Zoom’s new unlimited hours. 

New to the service? Here's our guide on how to use Zoom, how to change your Zoom background, and the best free Zoom backgrounds.

Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

Latest in Video Conferencing
A composite image showing Skype and Microsoft Teams side by side
I used Skype for years, and Teams is a poor replacement for the video calling service that started it all
Google Meet
Google Meet is getting a very handy automatic picture-in-picture mode — what you need to know
Project Starline 3D video conferencing
I just tried Google’s 3D video conferencing tool launching next year — here’s what Project Starline is like
Microsoft Teams
New Microsoft Teams is live — here's the 3 biggest upgrades
Google Meet update
It's official — Google Meet is getting one of Zoom’s best features
Zoom call on MacBook
Zoom flaw allows hackers to take over your Mac — update right now
Latest in News
Apple Watch Series 10
Future Apple Watch models could get a surprising new feature — what we know
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Monday, March 24 (#652)
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #386 (Monday, March 24 2025)
iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 16 Pro Max in hand showing displays
Forget iPhone 17 — iPhone 18 could get this huge upgrade
The new Husqvarna iQ series robot lawn mower.
Husqvarna’s new robot mowers offer GPS for less
Rendered images of rumored foldable iPhone.
Foldable iPhone report just revealed key details — here's what we know