Zoom is letting you use its video chat service for free on Thanksgiving Day. Better yet, Zoom is going to lift all video chat restrictions that day, too, so you can talk to your loved ones—remotely—all day if you want to. Of course, you’ll still need to not blow past your ISP’s data cap if you decide to have a huge catch-up session with your family on Zoom, but I wouldn’t worry about it.
Normally, here’s how much data your big day of calls will eat up, courtesy of Reviews.org:
Looks scary, right? But assuming you get a terabyte of data each month with your ISP, then going wild—even on Thanksgiving, and even with a 1080p group call—shouldn’t be a problem. Since we’re in pandemic times, you’re not going to get 1080p video anyway, no matter what you do. Zoom is limiting regular users’ group chats to mere “High Quality” video, or “standard video,” whenever you’re talking with three or more people at once. (Even one-on-one conversations only go up to 720p.)
I still wouldn’t set up a day-long Zoom chat with my family if I wasn’t on wifi. Cellular data caps can be much less generous. Even if you’re on a 15GB-per-month plan, you’ll blow through a good chunk of your data if you set up your phone in the kitchen and let it livestream your bubbling concoctions on Zoom all day long. The same is true if you open up your phone as a hotspot for others to use for Zoom. (I almost mentioned “the less-tech-savvy family members you’re visiting,” but that would be silly, because you’re staying safe and quarantined for Thanksgiving.)
As for Zoom’s offer, you’ll get a full day (and then some) of free, unlimited chat:
You’ll need an account to host any virtual Thanksgiving meetings you want to throw, so make sure you create one ahead of time in case there’s a digital rush on Thanksgiving—or, worse, Zoom somehow finds itself unable to handle all the people brining turkeys with their favorite people from afar. Otherwise, joining someone else’s Zoom call is as easy as clicking on the link they provide.
There are, of course, plenty of settings you can adjust to have a better Zoom experience whether you’re hosting your virtual Thanksgiving or merely saddling up to the table. I’d stick with my original tip, though: Turn off video when you’re not in the frame, and maybe consider not using it to broadcast your potentially stressful day of cooking. Have all of your family members point their devices at the dinner table once you’re plated and ready to go, and you can all enjoy each others’ company without having to juggle yet one more thing pre-meal.
