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Microsoft is using AI to blur out the background in your Skype calls, and here’s how to turn it on

If you’re a regular person, but still have to make the occasional Skype video call in a professional context, chances are you’ve had to shuffle your camera around to avoid anything embarrassing in the background.

All that changes, with Microsoft adding the ability to blur out your background to Skype calls so that you’re Skype calls won’t inadvertently show off the rack of laundry in the background, something you don’t realise until your interview subject comments on your old school Doom t-shirt. You know, just in case that’s ever happened to you.

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The feature was trialed in Microsoft’s Slack-alike Teams, but has now made its way to a wider audience courtesy of its introduction into Skype.

Want to hide your embarrassing environs on a Skype call? It’s quite easy. You just have to hover your cursor over the the video camera button lurking at the bottom of your screen and mash the ‘Blur my background’ toggle and hopefully it’ll all blur out. We had some success with testing this out, even in low light situations.

Alternatively, you can right-click your camera feed at the top right corner of the screen and click ‘Blur my background’ while you’re on a call in the pop-up menu.

Apparently, AI has made this possible. AI detects the edges of your face and body, and blurs things that aren’t you. Supposedly this feature is still being improved, so there’s no guarantee that you’ll absolutely blur out everything behind you, so it’s probably a good idea to move any passwords or bank details out of shot, just in case.

Are you using Skype’s new feature to blur out your background? Let us know how you get on on Twitter at @TrustedReviews

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