Microsoft Teams users can now add custom backgrounds to video calls

Microsoft has rolled out new options for backgrounds on Teams, along with other effects for video calls to take on its competitors like Zoom.

The company announced the launch of the new features in a blog post, but notes that custom backgrounds and other new effects can only be used for scheduled video calls.

“No need for a green screen, or even a blank wall. Teams uses a highly trained model that differentiates the subject from their background and can impose a custom background over everything else,” the company outlines.

This latest feature is another attempt from Microsoft to catch up to Zoom, which has offered custom backgrounds for video calls for some time now.

Microsoft notes that once users are setting up their video and audio before joining a meeting, they can select ‘Background effects’ to either blur their background or replace the background with an image provided by Microsoft or one of their own.

However, the tech giant notes that “blurring or replacing your background might not prevent sensitive information from being visible to other meeting participants.”

Along with the new background image features, Microsoft has also rolled out the option to schedule meetings as opposed to the sole “Meet Now” option for free users. There’s also the option to add live captions to video calls.

Source: Microsoft Via: The Verge