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Personal features in Microsoft Teams – now on desktop & web

Feature deep dive
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Hi, Office Insiders, my name is Fionna Gan and I’m a Program Manager on Microsoft Teams. I’m elated to share with you a set of new personal features in Teams that will make it easier to plan your days, and connect with friends and family!

Microsoft Teams

We hear many of you use Microsoft Teams for work and have been relying on it to stay organized and productive during the current global pandemic. We wanted to help you better manage your personal life too, so we released personal features to the Teams mobile app this summer to provide a productive chat, calling, and meeting experience for the groups in your life. From virtual book clubs to organizing a camping trip – Teams provides a space for your group to connect and organize.

Personal Features

We’re excited to bring these personal features to Teams on Windows and Mac as well as on the web! You can now add your personal account to Teams on those platforms, and chat with or call friends and family.

Microsoft Teams.

Here is the full list of features you can try today, and more will be coming soon:

  • Start a personal chat or create a group chat with up to 250 people.
  • Seamlessly sync your existing chats from your phone to your computer, and have conversations on the device of your choice.
  • Talk all day for free with friends and family via video or audio calls. To help you stay connected in the coming months, you will be able to meet for 24 hours with up to 300 participants until further specified.
  • Share video meeting invitations with anyone, even if they don’t have Teams. See up to 49 of your friends and loved ones in one frame in Gallery view or Together mode.
  • Upload and share photos and videos from your computer in any personal or group chat.

You can use the Teams desktop and web apps to chat with or call friends and family. We’re working on bringing all the other personal features available in the Teams mobile app to desktop and web soon.

How it works

To start using personal features in Teams on your computer, follow these steps:

  • If you are new to Teams, download the Teams desktop app and sign in with a personal Microsoft account or create one to get started.
  • If you currently use the Teams desktop app at work on either Windows or Mac, click your profile picture on the top-right corner and click Add personal account.

Screenshot of Microsoft Teams.

  • Upon successful sign-in, Teams will launch a new window containing your personal chats and groups so it’s easy to switch between your work and personal accounts.

Teams GIF.

  • If you want to use the personal features in Teams in your web browser, go to this link and sign in or create a personal Microsoft account to get started.

Tips and tricks 

  • Use Teams on both desktop/web and mobile so you can easily pick up conversations or calls on your device of choice. 

Scenarios to Try 

  • Set up a call for your happy hours and see your friends in together mode  they can join without signing in. 
  • Create a group chat with your family to catch up and plan for a virtual get-together! 
  • Create a group for your friends and share the group link with them to join. 

Known issues  

  • Not all features available on mobile are present in the desktop and web apps. 
  • If you don’t see an option to join a meeting on desktop, that’s because we’re rolling out gradually, but you can always join via the browser. 
  • If you are having issues joining a personal meeting on desktop while signed into your work account, please restart the Teams app and try rejoining. 

Requirements 

  • An active personal Microsoft account.
  • A stable internet connection.
  • Enable microphone and web cam permissions if prompted. 

Availability  

For the best experience, here’s the recommended versions to use these personal features in Teams: 

  • Desktop Client – Windows RS4+ (1803+), MacOS Sierra (10.12+), Linux is web only. 
  • Web Client – Any modern browser (IE is not supported). 

Note: We are slowly rolling out the option to add personal accounts to existing commercial users. So, if you don’t see this option to add your personal account, you may have to wait until your app is updated or for your IT admin to enable it within your organization. 

Feedback 

In the Teams desktop or web app, select Help > Give feedback or Suggest a feature.