Would you like other participants not to see your messy room during a Zoom meeting? If so, you're in luck—Zoom offers a "Blur" virtual background to help you hide your background mess completely. In this article, we'll show you how to enable the blur background in Zoom on desktop and mobile.

How to Blur Your Background in Zoom on Desktop

The process to blur the background in Zoom on desktop is almost the same on Windows and macOS. Therefore, regardless of which device you use, you can blur the background in Zoom for desktop by following these steps:

1. Launch Zoom on your device.
2. If you haven't already, sign into your account.
3. In the Zoom app, click on the gear icon in the top-right corner.

Then:

1. Select the Background & Effects tab from the left sidebar in the Settings window.
2. In the right pane, select Blur from the Virtual Backgrounds menu.

By following the above steps, you can hide your background with a blur effect and join the meeting right away. However, what if you have already joined the meeting and want to blur the background without leaving? That's also possible.

How to Blur Your Background in Zoom During a Meeting

If you forget to blur the background and join the meeting, you won't have to leave it to make the change. Instead, you can blur your background from the same meeting window. While in a Zoom meeting, here's how you can blur the background on Zoom for desktop:

1. Move your mouse over the meeting screen so that a hidden bar with customization options appears at the bottom.
2. Click on Stop Video to prevent others from seeing your messy background.
3. On the Stop Video button, click the upward arrow.
4. From the context menu, select Video Settings…

Here:

1. Select the Background & Effects tab from the left sidebar in the Settings window.
2. In the right pane, select Blur from the Virtual Backgrounds menu.

If you wish to remove the blur at a later time, you can easily do so. Follow the same steps above and select None or any other virtual background from the same window where you set Blur.

In addition, once you blur your background, it will stay the same for all future meetings. So, you won't have to make this change every time you join a new meeting, both on Zoom's desktop client and mobile app.

How to Blur Your Background in Zoom on Mobile

Like Zoom for desktop, you can blur your background in Zoom on Android and iOS in nearly the same way. However, you can only blur the background when you've already joined the meeting; there is no direct way to apply the blur effect the way we have done it on Zoom for desktop.

Thus, you can either join the main meeting you're planning to and select the blur virtual background in the middle, or start your own and make this change before your main meeting starts. Here are the steps you need to follow to blur your background while in a meeting on Zoom for Android and iOS:

1. Launch the Zoom app on your mobile device.
2. Start a new meeting or join the ongoing one.
3. Tap on the More menu in the bottom-right corner, represented by three horizontal dots.
4. Go to Backgrounds & Effects (on iOS) and Virtual Background (on Android) from the menu options.
5. Select Blur from the available backgrounds.

To revert this change, you need to follow the same steps and select None or any other background, the same way we chose Blur. If you get tired of the available virtual backgrounds in the Zoom app, you can also use your own. Take a look at our guide listing cool virtual backgrounds for Zoom meetings.

If you aren't seeing the option to blur your background in your desktop client or mobile app, you're likely using an outdated Zoom version. Verify that the version of the app you're on supports Blur background, as detailed on the Zoom website. Update it if it isn't.

Blur Your Messy Background With Ease

It should be possible for you to hide your background and prevent your colleagues from seeing the mess behind you. Since we have explained how to blur it on all devices, you shouldn't have a hard time doing so.

A Blur background is just one way you can protect your privacy, but Zoom offers many more. Do explore them!