Microsoft begins adding consumer features to desktop and web Teams apps

Microsoft began rolling out consumer Teams features to iOS and Android earlier this year. Starting today, November 19, consumer features for Teams on PC and browsers are also starting to roll out.

Microsoft is making preview versions of the following features available in Desktop and Web Teams apps:

• Start a personal chat or create a group chat with up to 250 people.
• Seamlessly sync existing chats from phone to computer and continue conversations on the device of your choice.
• Talk all day for free with friends and family via video or audio calls.
• Share video conference invitations with anyone, even if they don’t have teams.
• View up to 49 people in a frame in Gallery view or Ensemble view.
• Upload and share photos and videos from your computer in any personal or group chat.

To access these consumer Teams features, users can download the Teams desktop app and sign in with or create a personal Microsoft account. Users also have the option to add a personal account to an existing work Teams account. (Microsoft says it is rolling out this option “slowly” to existing business customers; it signaled its intention to allow users to add a single Teams personal account to a single work / school account earlier this month.) use the Teams consumer features in a browser, go to this link and sign in or create a personal Microsoft account.

Microsoft also announced it is adding previews of more mainstream features to existing Teams mobile apps. Users have the option to chat with contacts on iOS and Android who don’t have Teams installed on their phones by adding them to a group chat. They also benefit from a new location feature to allow users to provide updates / alerts on their physical location.

Other new Teams features focused on the mobile consumer, which Microsoft says are starting to roll out now and will be fully available in preview on iOS and Android “in the coming weeks”:

• Add group events from your chats to your device calendar.
• Get task and location updates in your activity feed.
• Add a photo to your personal safe.

Just a reminder (because I always see people saying there is a separate Teams client app): There is no separate Teams consumer app. Instead, Microsoft is adding consumer functionality to existing Teams work apps and Teams web apps. Also: at this time, Microsoft is not saying it plans to replace Skype with Teams; officials continue to say the two serve different purposes, with teams being more than “just” a means of chat and audio / video calls.