Here’s How You Zoomed Over the Past Year

If you’re like me and everyone else across the globe, you’ve spent a lot of time on Zoom this past year — for work collaboration, personal connection, and everything in between. 

We are pretty curious people here at Zoom, and we LOVE data, so that got us wondering: How long is the average Zoom meeting? How often do people try to talk while on mute? Who else is waving at the end of a Zoom video call? 

We pulled some anonymized usage metrics, sent out a survey, and aggregated a bunch of data to look at how people connected using Zoom this past year, plus identified some meeting norms you might relate to. (Spoiler: Yes, most of y’all wave at the end of meetings.)

We hope you find these stats as insightful — and relatable — as we do. Enjoy! 

We aggregated a bit of Zoom usage data from a 12-month period (Nov. 15, 2020, to Nov. 15, 2021) to glean some insights. In the past year:

• Zoom was used in nearly 200 countries and territories around the world
• The top day of the week for meetings was Wednesday, followed by Tuesday and Thursday 
• The average meeting length was 54 minutes
• The average meeting size was 10 participants

Additionally, these were the busiest Zoom days of 2021 (so far):

• For virtual meetings: Jan. 21 (which also happens to be National Hug Day!)
• For phone calls: Sept. 21
• For webinars: Feb. 25

In addition to those fun stats, we surveyed nearly 1,700 people who have used Zoom in the past year for a glimpse at what’s happening while you’re meeting virtually. Raise your virtual hand if you can relate to some of these!

Some common habits and preferences:

• 68% dress casually for meetings
• Almost half of you (47%) say it’s never OK to eat during meetings 
• 26% never (or almost never) shower before hopping on calls

Some of the most popular phrases on Zoom:

• 71% have said, “You’re on mute”
• 57% have said, “Can everyone see my screen?”
• 21% have said, “Next slide, please!”

Check out our recent enhanced slide control update that can help take care of that last one!

In the past year on Zoom:

• 75% of users say they wave at the end of their meetings
• 73% have attended happy-hour drinks or a game night
• 34% have attended a fitness or cooking class 

Not at your desk? These are some of the most popular places you’re taking meetings:

• 42% meet from bed 
• 21% meet while walking/jogging
• 11% use Zoom on public transport

We asked about your favorite types of virtual backgrounds. Here’s what you said: 

• Outdoor landscapes (26%)
• Blurred background (25%) 
• Business/company background (20%)

Check out our virtual background library to download background images to use in your next meeting!

And here are some things happening on (and off) camera:

• 43% cleaned only the part of the room visible on camera 
• 43% of parents had their kid show up during a meeting
• 39% private side-chatted with a friend or colleague to make them laugh 
• 36% had a pet show up during a meeting 

Visit this fun webpage to see more of these stats come to life!

And thank you ALL for your support over the past year! Zoom wouldn’t be where we are today without you — our loyal users who wave at the end of meetings, who have made “Zoom casual” an accepted dress code, and who continue to reliably connect with colleagues, family, and friends everywhere.