The global community is trying their best to cope with the rapidly evolving situation surrounding the spread of COVID-19. Governments are trying to quell panic while being appropriately cautious to contain the spread. Individuals are preserving their own and their families’ health by minimizing exposure. And businesses, particularly those that have logistics at the core, are struggling to find ways to mitigate damage to their bottom line and productivity. These are no doubt challenging times, and signs point to things getting worse before they get better.
As a company, we’ve been observing and thinking deeply about what actions to take as this virus continues to spread around the globe, and how to be as helpful as we possibly can be. Here is what we came up with.
Loom's responsibility to help during COVID-19
It’s our mission to empower everyone at work to communicate more effectively wherever they are. While Loom's screen recorder is used daily by all kinds of people and teams, not just the remote and distributed kind, our product is particularly useful to people who, for whatever reason, can’t be in the same room.
This is clearly the case for us when we ask the entire company to work remotely for a week every other month:
The rapid spread of COVID-19 has led to a dramatic surge in the number of people working remotely — many of them forced. Like other software products that are especially useful for remote work and asynchronous communication, we’ve seen a sudden and dramatic increase in usage where schools are closing, in-person events are canceled, and businesses are asking employees to work from home.
To us, these recent trends make it obvious that we must take action and take action now. It also makes evident how, should we change nothing about our existing pricing model, we stand to profit from the rise of a global pandemic. This is obviously and unequivocally wrong.
What we're changing today to help
We all need to be proactive during this challenging time, and especially help individuals and teams who may be working (or teaching and learning) remotely for the first time.
Other organizations are jumping in to ease the pain of this transition from co-located workplaces and classrooms to remote settings. GSuite announced free Enterprise features until July 1, 2020. Microsoft Teams announced six-month-long free trials. As a video messaging platform for the workplace (and classroom), we hope Loom can make a difference on this front as well.
Through July 1, 2020, Loom will:
Remove the recording limit on our free plan — what was 25 is now unlimited
Cut the price of Loom Pro in half — what was $10/month is now $5/month
Extend all trials of Loom Pro from 14 to 30 days
We’re committed to providing ongoing support, and to continuing to assess these changes as the situation evolves.
Also, Loom Pro is now free for education
If you're an eligible teacher or student already using Loom and we haven't contacted you, here's what you need to do.
We want to be clear that these changes are not a marketing play. We are trying to do what we believe is right. Inaction was not an option.
Making a dent
Many people around the world do not have the luxury of taking time off work without it severely altering their financial wellbeing. Taking weeks or months out of school will have a huge impact on students’ education for years to come.
Our hope is that by stepping up, we’re making a dent in the global impact this pandemic is causing, not just by making our product more accessible, but by helping set the kind of example we hope more businesses will follow.
Please reach out if we can be of any help, and take care of each other.