In the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us are at home and have used one app or another to have a meeting online. Zoom seems to be the default at this point, and one of the most valued features, is being able to change your background. Why? Because we’re all filthy human beings with something to hide. Maybe you don’t want your colleagues, classmates, lecturer, or boss, to see your family walking around, the mess in your room, or just want to spice things up.

Well now you can do that with Microsoft Teams too, as they’ve announced an update to change your background image. Though, you won’t be able to upload your own image like Zoom, but they’ve promised to bring that feature in later. They mentioned that the capability builds upon background blur that uses AI, to help blur the environment behind you.

https://twitter.com/Microsoft365/status/1248402647318589440?s=20

They’ve also added a new “raise hand” icon, which you can click to let the chat know if you have something to say during a meeting. But another highly requested feature, the “end meeting” option gives organisers the power to end a call, with a single click of a button. This was apparently, a top educator request, most probably to help them maintain their classroom or, you know, end the meeting quickly so people don’t see something they don’t want you to see.

https://twitter.com/mtholfsen/status/1248253159614500865?s=20