How to blur my background for all video calls in Skype for Android and iOS

Due to the covid pandemic for the last few months, most people have worked from home. Our bedrooms have become offices, we have started dressing only from the waist up, and we have started interacting exclusively on Skype and other meeting platforms. Life is pretty fun right now.

The previously private space that we call home has now become the background for our business meetings. Our colleagues can see that one chair that is always full of clothes and the messy bed we can’t bother to make.

Unfortunately, that’s what the home office situation looked like a few months ago. You had to specifically plan where to situate your working space so the background looks good and people in your meeting couldn’t see messy home spaces.

The bright side is that this problem got fixed. When the covid pandemic hit and people started working from home, keeping your background private arose, so virtual meeting platforms like Skype began seeking a solution. And they found it.

It is a feature that blurs your background in real-time using AI. It detects your hair, face, and limbs, so people can still see you, but it blurs everything else. It is an excellent option for anyone who doesn’t like to show their home. And the best part? You can use it on your phone too. Here is how to use the background blue feature of Skype on Android and IOS.

The background blur feature

Microsoft added a background blur feature to its Skype for iOS and Android app. The quality is the same as what is already offered in the company’s Teams app, allowing iPhone and Android users to blur what’s in the background of a video call. Microsoft also recently added an automatic background blurring option to Skype’s desktop app.

Microsoft utilizes artificial intelligence to obscure everything around you and keep you as the primary focal point. The blur effect will detect hair, arms, and hands to avoid blurring out the essential parts of your body language during video calls. It won’t wholly blur everything around you, but it certainly improves video calls where you want to keep the focus on yourself and not your messy room.

How to activate the background blur effect on your IOS or Android device?

The process is relatively simple.

1. First, you need to start your video call as you would typically do.
2. Then take a look at what you see on the screen before you.
3. You have the hangup button, the mic mute, a tiny camera so you can turn off your camera, and then depending on your device, three dots at one of the screen corners.
4. To blur your background, you need to click on the three dots and toggle the switch for the background blur feature.

And voila, as simple as one click, you can blur your background in real-time, so people don’t see your messy room while discussing work reports. Now you can enjoy your professional video calls.