Microsoft is preparing an update for collaboration platform Teams that will extend one of the most useful features to an additional group of users.
As explained in a new entry in the company’s product roadmap, Microsoft is bringing the ability to blur the video background to customers running Teams on virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
“Users on Teams on VDI on Azure Virtual Desktop/Windows 365 can blur their background in your video meeting and call,” the entry explains.
The feature still appears to be under development, but should be made available to relevant Microsoft Teams users by the end of the month.
Microsoft Teams backgrounds
Since the transition to remote working, a number of video conferencing vendors have rolled out virtual background functionality, which allows users to obscure the room behind them with an overlay of their choice.
A more subtle option is to blur the background, which has the dual effect of obscuring anything incriminating that might be laying around in someone’s bedroom or home office and focusing the attention on the person’s face.
Although Microsoft Teams has offered such a feature for a while now, it has traditionally been available to users of its desktop and mobile clients only.
After bringing background effects to the web client last month, Microsoft is now completing the set by extending the feature to those running Teams on Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365. The broad objective is to ensure the meeting experience is consistent for all Microsoft Teams users, no matter which client or hardware they are using the dial in.
Beyond the virtual backgrounds feature, Microsoft has made a number of recent additions to Teams with this goal in mind, including the ability to control calls using Bluetooth devices, combine work and business accounts and access screen-sharing controls across all clients.
