How to Change Background on Zoom [Desktop and Mobile]

Chriselle Sy

Last updated June 30, 2023

Zoom had an average of more than 300 million users participating in meetings daily back in 2020. Needless to say, Zoom has been made increasingly ubiquitous as it’s become a staple in people’s daily lives.

Zoom offers many handy features that can help make online meetings and video conferences much easier all around. One such feature is the ability to blur or change your background. Changing your background allows you to have a bit more privacy, hide a dull or cluttered room behind you, or jazz up your background a bit.

Are you asking, “but how do I change my background on Zoom?” If so, you’re in luck!

In this guide, we’ll discuss how to change background on Zoom, what requirements you need to meet, and where you can get free backgrounds to use!

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What Do You Need to Change Your Background on Zoom?

If you’d like to change your webcam’s background in a Zoom call, there are a few things you’ll need to keep in mind first, such as:

If you cannot enable virtual backgrounds for any reason whatsoever and you are in a group/team/enterprise, chances are the feature was locked by the administrator. Therefore, if you want to use virtual backgrounds, you’ll need to request for the feature to be enabled.
If you don’t have the option to use a virtual background, log into your account at Zoom.us, go to My Account, Settings, then Toggle virtual background on.

Background photos must be in either .JPG or .PNG format. They can be in any size or resolution, but it’s best to follow your webcam’s aspect ratio. If you aren’t sure what that is, just use 1280x780px.
Background videos must be in either .MP4 or .MOV. Resolution must be a minimum of 360p (480x360px) and a maximum of 1080p.

How to Change Background on Zoom Desktop App

Here’s how to set your Zoom background on the desktop app:

How to Put a Background on Zoom Before a Meeting

Download and install the Zoom desktop app on your Mac/Windows computer.
Open the app and sign in with your Zoom account or other accounts.
When signed in, click on your profile picture (top right corner) and click on Settings.

In the Zoom settings, Background & Effects is where you’ll find the options. You can select one of the existing backgrounds or blur your backgrounds.

If you’d like to upload your own image or video, simply click on the plus icon (pictured below).

How to Add a Zoom Background During a Meeting

If you’re wondering how to add a background in Zoom while you’re already in a meeting, follow the steps below.

In the Zoom window, look for the Stop Video icon and click the up arrow on the button.

Click on Choose Virtual Background, and select a pre-existing background or upload your own by clicking the plus icon.

You might also be interested in Ideas for Home Office Backgrounds.

How to Change Zoom Background for Mobile

If you’re wondering how to change your Zoom background on the iPad, iPhone, or Android device, follow the steps below. Note that you can only change your background while in a meeting.

Download and install the Zoom app from the app store and install it on your device. Open it and then create an account or sign in.
While in a call, tap on the More button (with the three dots above it).

In the menu that comes up, tap on Background & Effects.

Select your background of choice or upload your own.

Where to Find Free Zoom Backgrounds

Now that we’ve answered the question, “how do I add a background to Zoom?,” let’s talk about where you can get some fancy backgrounds to use.

You can pretty much use whatever Zoom background you wish, as long as the image or video fits the prerequisites. By that, we mean the image or video should fit the allowed resolution and should be in the correct file type or extension. However, just because you can use anything doesn’t mean that you should.

Although the risk of getting in trouble with copyright holders is low unless you are illegally using copyrighted content during a large meeting or webinar, it’s still a better idea to use a copyright-free Zoom background if possible. Luckily, you don’t even have to spend any money to find some high-quality photos and videos you can use for free.

Here are just a few places from where you can get some free backgrounds for your Zoom meetings:

Unsplash.com – You can browse Unsplash’s Zoom Backgrounds category for some images you might want to use. They offer high-quality photographs of offices, homes, scenery, cafes — pretty much everything you need, for free. Note that you are not limited to this category, either. You can browse Unsplash’s website and use whichever image you’d like, as long as it fits the required parameters.
Pexels.com – Pexels is another website that houses a ton of beautiful images you can use as your Zoom background at absolutely no cost. You can browse their Zoom Background category or use any image from their collection. One thing you might like about Pexels, however, is the fact that it offers videos you can use to step up your Zoom background game.

We’d also like to give Canva an honorary mention, as it does offer plenty of ready-to-go backgrounds. It also has a ton of templates you can edit and design within Canva itself so you can create a custom background. Note that some of the templates and backgrounds are only available to Canva Pro subscribers.

Conclusion

Learning how to change background on Zoom might feel intimidating, especially if you’re not particularly in tune with technology. Thankfully, once you get it right the first time, it becomes much easier to do in the future.

We hope that this guide has helped you figure out how to get your virtual background working on Zoom! Let us know what you like to use as your background in the comments below!

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