Microsoft Teams is a videoconferencing and collaboration tool that’s gained quite a bit of popularity at the start of this year, mostly due to its ease of use and a number of handy features, especially when it comes to conducting business remotely.
One of these interesting options is also the ability to blur out your surroundings or even replace them with a new picture. Whether you wish to make your meetings a bit more fun or you’d simply like to hide that unseemly mess behind you, here are some ways you could adjust your backgrounds when using Microsoft Teams:
Before starting a meeting
If you wish to adjust your backdrop before your meeting even starts, simply follow the steps below to change it:
- During your initial setup, press the Background Effects option, located right next to the microphone switch.
- From the right-hand side, you can select the Blur feature to make everything behind your face appear a bit fuzzier and more hidden.
- Here, you could also decide to swap your real-life backdrop with one of the provided pictures. Or, you could upload your own photo from your device, just by pressing the Add New option and selecting a suitable picture.
- If you ever wish to remove your altered background, simply press the circle-backslash icon.
Note: Keep in mind that whenever you change your backdrop when using Teams, it will stay the same in all meetings until you decide to remove it or choose a new one once again.
After starting a meeting
In case you’d like to adjust your backdrop after one of your meetings has already started, you can change it by following the steps below:
- In the controls bar at the bottom, press More (three horizontal dots) and then click on the Show Background Effects option.
- Here, you could decide to Blur your surroundings, or even select a new backdrop from the provided pictures. To import your own photo, simply press the Add New option and select a suitable image.
- You will also have the opportunity to preview the backdrop you’ve selected before you finally press Apply to save your adjustments.
- If you wish to remove your new backdrop, simply press the circle-backslash icon.
Note: If you can’t seem to find these features in your menu, these options may not be available for your specific device just yet.
And that’s it! Whether you wish to adjust your background before or after starting a new meeting in the Microsoft Teams application, you can now do so quickly and easily, just by completing the simple steps above.
