If you have been deep into the Microsoft ecosystem for work, then you’re probably used to being on Microsoft Teams for your work-related communication chats, video calls, etc. But now they’re also trying to venture into your non-work life by bringing a personal use component to the app. You can sign up or sign in with a personal account but it’s still in the preview version for now. There’s no new separate app version or a rebranding but just more of a repositioning for the brand.
If you’re interested to see how Teams can work with your family or with your other personal groups, you will be able to try it out in preview. If you’re already using Teams at work, all you need to do is add an account. If you have a personal Microsoft account, sign in with that. You can also create a new account by using your mobile number. After that, you can toggle between work and personal accounts easily. If you’re not using Teams yet, then you’ll have to sign up and install it on your mobile device.
Some of the features that you can try on preview have previously existed in Teams but in a professional capacity. There are also new things they’re bringing to make it more useful for your personal life. The basic is of course you can use it to text, chat, and do video and voice calls. Features like sharing GIFs, photos, videos, documents, location are already integrated. The group dashboard is where you can share calendars, lists, documents, etc.
Location sharing is also included so you can let trusted people in your various groups know where you are. And of course since this is Microsoft, then collaboration on Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc is also included. One of the new things they’re introducing is a Safe where you can store and share important things like passwords, login information, rewards numbers, and other things that you need to be protected with two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption.
The Microsoft Teams consumer/personal preview will start rolling out for Android (and also iOS) in the next few weeks. They will also be releasing additional features depending on the feedback they get from those on the preview mode.
