Teams for private use were previously limited to the mobile app, Microsoft is changing that: Family and friends can now also confer for hours on the desktop. The application is free. And even without a Microsoft account you can be there via the browser.

Teams on the desktop and in the web app allow up to 250 Participants in chats and groups. Video and audio calls can run for 24 hours at a time. That is significantly more time than with the free versions of most other providers. People without a Teams account can now participate by invitation. The tile look with up to 49 people is available, as is the Together Mode. Photos and vidoes can be shared in chats. Further functions that are already included in the mobile variant are to follow.

Separate accounts, an application Who has separate accounts for has professional and private use on Teams’ mobile devices, they can now combine them on the desktop. Chats can also be synchronized. Separate windows for each use should avoid mixing.

With a work account at Microsoft, you can add a personal account via the settings behind your own profile photo. For commercial accounts, it may take some time before the option is available, writes Microsoft in a blog post.

Microsoft is also working on making chats permanently available to people who don’t have a Teams app. You should then receive the messages via SMS, tests are already underway in the USA and Canada. There are also new location functions that tell other users when they want to leave the house, where they are and what the estimated time of arrival will be.

The mobile teams version also gets the function To transfer events from chats to the device’s calendar. Tasks and location information can be displayed in the overview. Photos can be stored in the personal safe.

(emw)