Zoom Pulls Freebie Services From China-Based Users

In the recent past, thanks to COVID-19, many of us were forced to join the ‘work from home’ movement. Teachers are holding classes via Zoom and even fitness centers are doing Zoom workout classes. Several social media platforms such as Cisco (CSCO)-owned WebEx, Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google Hangouts, and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Teams, began offering limited-time free access and use to their users in a bid to encourage people affected by lockdowns and social distancing directives. Yet the overall leader in this movement, which has gained ever-increasing popularity and massive profits in the global stock market has been Zoom, an American videotelephony company founded and owned by Chinese born Eric Yuan.

The concept of working remotely is far from foreign here in China, particularly for those in the education sector. ESL teachers employed by training centers often rely on video-conferencing software to give lessons to schools and students further outside the cities in which they are based. International schools in Beijing and the rest of China have also had to rely on video-conferencing in the interim, using a variety of platforms to teach students stuck at home. Some of the software is known to be notoriously difficult to operate, so unsurprisingly, many of these schools and training centers have turned to Zoom due to its ease of use. Zoom has also been working to increase its user numbers in China, offering the service free to users.

However, users have recently noted a change in user policy. As of May 1, Zoom services are no longer free but are available on a subscription basis, which includes various different features for different price points. This sudden change in pricing might force training centers which have come to rely on the service to look elsewhere, and possibly return to use less user-friendly learning apps already in the market.

If you are still using a free membership, the main change you notice is that there is now a limit on the length of Zoom calls: to 40 minutes. Here are the full details of what the free package includes: