Got a messy room and about to go into an important meeting? You’ll want to know how to blur the background in Zoom. Here’s our straightforward guide to save your blushes.
Zoom has become a huge part of many employees working lives over recent years and many of us have become experts in the video conferencing tool through sheer repetition. But there are plenty of ins and outs to navigate.
A key feature is learning how to blur your background. It is a handy tool so you never have to worry about what setting you’re in when it comes to taking a video call. This is how to blur the background in Zoom. As an aside, this is a guide for desktop use of Zoom, check out the Troubleshooting section at the bottom of these instructions for information on how to do this on mobile.
What you’ll need:
- A Windows or MacOS device
- The Zoom desktop app
The Short Version
- Open Zoom
- Select Settings
- Click Background & Effects
- Select Blur
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Step
1Open Zoom
Whether you’re on Windows or MacOS, open your Zoom app.
Step
2Select Settings
Click the icon with your first initial in the top right corner of the window. Then, select Settings from the dropdown menu.
Step
3Click Background & Effects
The Settings menu will now be open. Select ‘Background & Effects’ from the menu on the left.
Step
4Select Blur
From the options underneath your video feed, click the Blur option.
Troubleshooting
To blur your video background on the Zoom mobile app, open the app and select ‘More’. Then, tap ‘Meetings’ then ‘Background & Effects’. Finally, select ‘Blur’.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
