What to do with Your Video Chat Background

We don't all have pristine, curated environments for professional video chatting. Here are a few tricks to keep the focus away from background and all eyes on you.

Blur Your Background in Microsoft Teams

To start a meeting with a blurred background:

1. First, on the "join meeting" screen find the blur slider next to the video slider on the bottom of the video image.
2. Turn the blur slider on.
3. Join the meeting. (Note: this only works for scheduled meetings.)

To blur your background during a meeting:

1. Click "More Options".
2. Select "Blur My Background".

Note: The blur function isn't yet available on all devices, so double check to make sure it's available on yours!

Use a Virtual Background in Zoom

Zoom gives you the option to change your background to any .jpeg, .png, or .gif file you choose. Here's how:

To start a meeting with a virtual background:

1. Find an image that you would like to use as your background. Recommended dimensions: 1920px by 1080px (16:9 aspect ratio).
2. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
3. Click your profile picture then click Settings.
4. Select Virtual Background.
5. Click on an image to select the desired virtual background. Add your own image by clicking + and choosing if you want to upload an image or a video.
6. If prompted, click "Download"to download the package for virtual background without a green screen.

To enable virtual background during a meeting:

1. In a Zoom meeting, click the ^ arrow next to Start/Stop Video.
2. Click "Choose a virtual background".
3. Select an image for the desired virtual background. Add your own image by clicking + and choosing if you want to upload an image or a video.

Note: Ensure that you are using a solid background color.

To disable Virtual Background, choose the option "None".