How to Blur Background in Teams on Any Device

There are times when you need to learn how to blur background in Teams. By blurring the background, you can reduce visual distractions, prevent sensitive or personal information from being visible to others on the call, etc. Fortunately, Microsoft Teams offers the background blur feature to improve the visual experience and maintain privacy in meetings.

If you don’t know how to blur the background in Microsoft Teams - getting started only takes a few steps. We have all these covered in this post with bonus tips for recording Microsoft Teams Meetings/Calls secretly.

How to Blur Background in Teams Before a Meeting/Call

Here’s how to blur your background in Teams before a meeting or call on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android respectively. The steps to blur the background vary from the version of Microsoft Teams you are using and the device model. 

How to Blur Background in Teams on Windows

Step 1. Open Microsoft Teams on your Windows PC and click the team meeting link. 

Step 2. Select the Background filters option and you should see the Background settings on the right side. 

Step 3. Select the Blur option from the background option and apply it to the meeting. 

How to Blur Background in Teams on Mac

Step 1. Open the Microsoft Teams app on your Mac computer and select the team meeting link you’ll join. 

Step 2. Click on the three dots to get more meeting options. Then select the Show background filters option.

Step 3. Select Blur from the background options. Then join the meeting. 

How to Blur Background in Teams on iOS

Step 1. Open the Microsoft Teams app on your iPhone or iPad. Select the team meeting link. 

Step 2. Tap the three dots at the bottom of the screen to show more options. 

Step 3. Tap on Show background effects and a list of options appear. Then select the Blur tile. Tap Done to finish how to blur background in Teams on iPhone or iPad. 

How to Blur Background in Teams on Android 

Step 1. Open the Microsoft Teams app on your Android device. Select the team meeting link. 

Step 2. Tap the three dots to show more settings. Tap Show background effects.

Step 3. Tap Blur from the background effects options. Tap Done to apply the blur. Now, you should know how to blur background in Microsoft Teams.

Also Read: How to Change Zoom Background >>

How to Blur the Background on Teams During a Meeting/Call

It’s also possible to blur the background in Teams during a meeting/call. Use the following steps to get how to blur background in Teams on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.

How to Blur Your Background in Teams on Windows

Step 1. Join the video call or meeting in Microsoft Teams. Locate the toolbar at the top of the screen.

Step 2. On the toolbar, there is an option called "More actions" represented by three dots (...). Click on the three dots. 

Step 3. Select Apply background effects from the menu that appears. 

Step 4.  Click the Blur option under the Background settings and click Apply. 

Step 5. Select Preview or Apply and turn on the video. 

How to Blur Your Background in Teams on Mac

Step 1. Start or join a video call in Microsoft Teams. Once you're on the call, locate the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

Step 2. Click the three dots on the toolbar to get more actions. Select Show background effects from the list.

Step 3. Find and select the Blur option.

Step 4. Click the Apply button to apply the blur. That’s how to blur background in Teams meeting on Mac. 

How to Blur Your Background in Teams on iOS

Step 1. Tap the Microsoft Teams app on your iPhone to open it.  

Step 2. Start the video chat. Tap on the three dots at the bottom. 

Step 3. On the Select background windows, tap Blur. That’s how to blur the background in Teams on iPhone or iPad.

How to Blur Your Background in Teams on Android

Step 1. Open the Microsoft Teams app on your Android device. 

Step 2. Enter the video call. Tap on the three dots at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3. You should see Blur. Tap the Blur my background. 

Also Read: How to Change Discord Webcam Background >>

Bonus: How to Record Teams Meetings/Call Secretly

What if you want to record a Teams meeting or call for later reviewing or sharing to absent team members? A reliable recording tool like iTop Screen Recorder can make it done easily.

iTop Screen Recorder - Record Meetings, Webinars & Lessons

• Record online meetings, lectures with audio
• Record meetings, webinars with webcam
• Record meetings, work calls without permission
• Take notes and draw remarks during recording

Free Download Buy Now

iTop Screen Recorder serves as a screen recorder to capture on-screen activities on Windows PCs. It enables you to record a program, a window, a browser tab and more. Using it, you can record Teams meetings and calls with audio secretly even as a guest. Better still, it can improve your Teams meeting or call recordings’ clarity and highlight with annotation tools. It can also deliver no-lagging recording without compromising quality. What’s more, it lets you record Teams meetings with webcam and remove/change/blur webcam background while recording. The built-in video editor helps you cut, split, and merge your Teams Meeting recordings, and add text, images, subtitles, filters, effects, and more.

iTop Screen Recorder comes with a nifty interface, making it easy to navigate. Now, follow the guide below to record Microsoft Teams Meeting or Call.

Step 1. Free download and install iTop Screen Recorder on your PC. It is fully compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7. 

Step 2. Join in a meeting or call. Launch iTop Screen Recorder. Go to Record > Screen, and select recording area. Turn on Speaker to record Teams meeting/call with audio. Also, you can turn on Mic and Webcam to record screen with voice and yourself at the same time if necessary. After that, click REC to start recording.

Step 3. Click Done (the red square shaped) button to stop recording when the meeting/call is ended. 

Now, you can go to Files > Video to find the recording file. From here, you can also play, edit, rename, delete the file as you like.

Also Read: How to Record Zoom Meetings Without Permission >>

How to Blur Background in Microsoft Teams - FAQs

Why Can’t I Blur the Background in Teams?

If the "Blur my background" option is not available and you can’t blur the background in Teams, it could be due to limitations in your hardware or software configuration. In such cases, you can try using a physical or virtual background instead, if those options are available to you. 

Can I Change Background in Teams?

Yes. You can change the background in Teams by selecting background effects, such as blurring, selecting from a list of images, or uploading your images.

What Are the Benefits of Blurring Background in Teams?

By blurring the background, you can protect sensitive or personal information, achieve distraction reduction, maintain a clean and polished appearance, highlighting the speaker, and more.

What Are the Limitations of Blurring Background in Teams?

The background blur feature may not always be perfect, especially in complex or busy scenes. If supported, using virtual backgrounds provides a more visually appealing and engaging experience.

Conclusion

How to blur background in Teams? We’ve covered a comprehensive guide on how to blur background in Microsoft Teams before or during a Meeting/call on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. The background blur feature is not available on the Linux operating system. With a blurry background in Teams, you can avoid distracting and messy backgrounds and get better privacy. If you need to record Teams meetings, try iTop Screen Recorder, a powerful screen recorder which is just all about the easiest way of recording Teams meetings and calls secretly in high quality.

iTop Screen Recorder - Record Meetings, Webinars & Lessons

• Record online meetings, lectures with audio
• Record meetings, webinars with webcam
• Record meetings, work calls without permission
• Take notes and draw remarks during recording

Free Download Buy Now