2020 is a strange year for many reasons, but none more impactful than the COVID-19 pandemic. With the virus raging and thousands of people dying, you really shouldn't be preparing to travel long distances for vacation.

Thankfully, Zoom has already played a major role in bringing people together through the Internet, and will be removing that important limitation for Thanksgiving.

Previously, Zoom's basic plan limited meetings to 40 minutes if there were three or more participants. With Thanksgiving and other holidays, there is not much time for a social turkey dinner. Therefore, this particular restriction was limited, albeit for a short period of time.

Zoom announced on Twitter that the 40-minute restriction will be suspended from midnight ET on November 26 through 6 am ET on November 27. This restriction will be lifted worldwide, which will help Americans living abroad who will not be able to return home this year.

It is unclear if Zoom plans to do the same for other holidays (a little late for Diwali), but this is a start. It is normal for millions of Americans to gather to celebrate Thanksgiving at the end of this month. But with no end in sight to the pandemic, it is safer to stay home.

There will be many who travel regardless, but those who don't need to stay home alone. Or they have to start a new meeting every 40 minutes. [Of course, Zoom is not the only service that offers video calling, and Skype, WhatsApp, Facetime, Facebook, and many other messaging apps make it just as easy to stay in touch. So there is no need to feel obligated to sign up for a Zoom account just because there is no 30-hour time limit.

And again, Zoom is not the only free user with a time limit. So you need to weigh your options and see what works for you; it's a good thing that Zoom has introduced end-to-end encryption.