How to Blur Background in Teams for a Professional Look

I. Introduction to Blurred Backgrounds in Teams

With the increasing trend of remote work, virtual meetings became the new normal. Microsoft Teams is one of the most popular collaboration platforms, and it offers some features to improve the quality of virtual meetings. One of these features is a blurred background, which aims to make the users look more professional and video calls more focused.

II. Using Built-in Backgrounds

If you do not have an image that you would like to use as your blurred background, Teams offers some built-in backgrounds that can be used. To select a built-in background, follow these steps:

1. Join your Teams meeting and turn on video
2. Click on the three-dot menu at the bottom right corner of the video window
3. Select ‘Show background effects’ from the menu that appears
4. Select any of the pre-set backgrounds available on the right panel, and click on the ‘apply’ button.

Teams will replace your actual background with a blurred version of the selected image.

III. Upload Your Custom Blurred Background

If you would like to use a custom image, you can make your preferred image blurry and upload it to Teams. Follow these steps:

1. Select the image you want to blur from your computer or phone
2. Open the image in Microsoft Paint or any other image editing software
3. Select the ‘blur’ tool and apply it to your image
4. Save the blurred image on your computer or phone
5. Join your Teams meeting and follow the same steps as in the previous section
6. Select ‘add new’ from the top of the right panel
7. Select the blurred image that you saved, and click on the ‘open’ button
8. Teams will replace your background with a blurred version of your personalized image.

IV. How to Toggle Blur On and Off

If you would like to quickly toggle blur on and off during the meeting, use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+P on a PC or Command+Shift+P on Mac. Alternatively, Teams AI automatically detects the user’s shape and separates it from the background, so even if you move around during the meeting, Teams will keep your image sharp and your background blurry.

V. Troubleshooting

If you face any issue while using blurred backgrounds, you can try the following tips:

• Make sure your computer or phone meets the minimum system requirements to run Teams.
• Enable the ‘blur my background’ feature from the settings before starting or joining a meeting.
• Ensure that you have a stable internet connection to avoid interruptions.

VI. Best Practices for Using Blurred Backgrounds

Here are some tips to make the most out of blurred backgrounds:

• Choose a well-lit environment to avoid shadows and grainy images.
• Avoid wearing clothes that match the background to prevent the AI from detecting the virtual background instead of your body.
• Be aware of the limitations of the blurred background feature and when it may not be suitable to use.

VII. Conclusion

Blurred backgrounds are a useful feature offered by Teams to improve virtual meetings and make them look more professional. Whether you use one of the built-in backgrounds or upload a blurry image, Teams makes the process easy and efficient. Ensuring that you have a stable internet connection and good lighting conditions, while being mindful of the feature’s limitations, will enhance your virtual meetings even more.