For the past two years ever since COVID-19 started, the majority of the workflow started to take place online. We started attending meetings online on Zoom, teams and Google meet.

However, often we become conscious of the background while attending the video conferencing, and if you are one of those, then here we have a quick fix for this problem. here we have a guide on how you can blur the background on Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams is one of the best platforms for collaborative workflows. These collaborative platforms have become an integral part of our daily flow of work and life.

These video calls could affect our privacy which is why Microsoft Teams have added an option to blur or change the background while you are on video calls.

Often, there are situations where you cannot turn off your camera while connecting to others, and you simply can’t hide your background, which is when the background blur comes into action.

Here is how you can use the background blur feature on Microsoft Teams to hide your background. The best part is that you can blur the background regardless of the device you are using, be it a computer desktop, mobile or tablet.

Blur Background on Microsoft Teams on desktop

Blurring the background on Microsoft Teams doesn’t take much time. But a blurred background can often look mushy due to the poor-quality webcams of laptops, and it can seek unnecessary attention.

Microsoft Teams also provides an option to blur the background even before joining or starting a call. Otherwise, if you want to consistently have a blurry background, then you can follow the below tutorial.

Blur Background Before Joining the Call

If you are the host, then you can click on the ellipsis icon (three vertical dots) located at the top right corner of the Teams screen right before you place the call. Next, from the drop-down menu, you can click on Apply Background Effects.

Here you will be able to see all of the available background options that can be applied.

Alternatively, if you are joining a meeting, then before pressing the join button you can click on the Background Effects icon located next to the Microphone toggle. it will open the background options and settings to choose from on the right side of the screen.

Now, you can locate and click on the Blur button to blur your background. The AI of the Teams will automatically detect your surroundings and blur them while keeping you in focus.

Click on the Apply button from the bottom right corner of the screen to confirm the background and intimate the call on teams.

In case you are joining a scheduled meeting through a link, then you can click on the Join Now button to join the meeting once you have adjusted the background.

That’s it you have now successfully adjusted and blurred your background for video calls on Microsoft teams and everyone who will be attending calls with you will be seeing your background as blurred.

Blur Background After Joining the Call

If by chance you have already joined the call and you forgot to blur your background. Don’t worry, you don’t need to hang up and join again. You can also edit the background and set it to blur even after you have joined the call.

Follow through the quick guide to learn how to blur the background after you have joined the call.

1. Click on the vertical three dots menu while you are on call. From the drop-down menu click on the Apply Background Effects option. It should open a ‘Background settings’ panel on the right side of the screen.
   
2. Now, from the right panel, you need to find and click on the Blur tile.
   
3. Next, you need to click on the Apply button from the bottom right corner of the screen to confirm and blur your background. It will be applied immediately on your call.
   
4. Finally, click on the ‘x’ (Close) icon located beneath the ‘leave’ button. This will close the background settings panel that you opened to adjust the background.
   

Blur Background on Microsoft Teams on iPhone

For users who usually join teams calls on their smartphones like iPhone or Android, we have a tutorial for you on how you can blur the background of your item call on iPhone.

Blur Background Before Joining the Call

1. If you are joining the teams call from the Join Now screen then you can tap on the ‘ background Effects’ option from the top of the video frame. It should take you to the preview screen of video background settings.
2. You need to click on the ‘Blur’ tile from the grid of options to blur your background.
3. Now, tap on the ‘Done’ button located at the top right corner of the screen to confirm your choice and close the ‘background effects settings’ window.
4. You will be able to see the blurred background in the preview box. That’s it, now you can click on the join button to join the call. You shall join the call with a blurred background.

Blur Background After joining the Call

If you have already joined the teams call from your mobile phone and now you need to blur the background. Then you can do so, but it has a slightly different process, you can follow the tutorial below to learn how to blur the background after joining the call on mobile devices like iPhone or Android.

1. You need to click on the three vertical dots (options) icon located at the bottom bar of the ongoing call screen. it should bring up an overlay menu.
   
2. From the overall menu, you need to tap on the ‘background effects’ option to open an overlay selection menu.
   
3. Now, you can tap on the ‘Blur’ tile from the selection area to blur your background.
   

Finally, tap on the Done option located at the top right corner to confirm and then close the background effect screen.

Now, your computer and iPhone or Android device will have a blurred background on.