The Corona Virus Pandemic has been with us for a number of months, with no real signs that it will be fading out soon. While scientists around the World work round the clock for a possible vaccine, the Pandamicc has forced virtually all and sundry to rethink how we work. For a larger number of us, working from home is the best bet, and little wonder while there has been a surge in the adoption of video conferencing apps since the outbreak.
When you are required to attend virtual interviews and meetings with your employees or boss via video chat popular apps like the Hangouts, Skypes, and Zooms easily come to mind. They are also the go-to apps for those hooking up with family and friends, as they are virtually all free apps. Now, to make your video chat or conferencing more interesting, a number of these apps in the past few days have rolled out some interesting features that should spice up your conferencing experiences.
Zoom which bu far is the most popular apps only recently rolled out an update that allows you to hide the cluttered room behind you by way of changing your video conferncing background. With the feature, users can with a few clicks choose from a selection of stock images like the Golden Gate Bridge or a Caribbean beach – or you can upload an image or video from your own device. Now, Microsoft owned Skype has introduced a similar feature that allows you to change your background during video calls.
How to change your background in Skype
Changing your background in Skype is easy, and can be affected with just a few taps of buttons. However, it is recommended you save images to be used locally to your desktop, and for better results, ensure you use images in landscape orientation. There are basically two ways you can change the background in Skype call to a custom image, but it is worth noting that custom backgrounds don’t appear to work on the Microsoft Store version of the Skype app. So it is recommended you download the .exe file from the Skype website or use the web version of the service on Windows 10 if you’d like to change your background.
Changing Skype background during a call:
This option allows you to activate or change Skype background when you have already initiated the video call. It is simple and requires only a few steps.
- Open Skype on the web or the latest version of the Skype app for Windows or Mac.
- During a call, hover over the video button or click the More menu.
- Click Choose background effect.
- You can then Blur the room (Windows 10-only), choose an image you previously added, or add a new image.
- Select “add a new image” to upload a custom background to use during a video call.
Changing Skype background before a call:
The second options require you to change the background image even before you initiate the video call, and it is quite simple and straight easy to activate.
- Open Skype on the web or the latest version of the Skype app for Windows or Mac.
- Click your profile picture.
- Click Settings, and then click Audio and Video.
- Under Choose background effect, you can choose an image you previously added or add a new image.