Microsoft Teams adds Snapchat Lenses to bring the party to your video chats

Add some visual fun to your video chats. Image source: Microsoft.

Microsoft announced that it has added a new feature from Snapchat to allow users to spice up their video chats by integrating Snapchat Lenses for Teams.

With this release, Microsoft Teams users have access to a collection of 26 popular Snapchat Lenses during video chats. Participants can use the Lenses to transform themselves into cartoon characters and add a variety of backgrounds like Bear in Love, Cat on Head, or the Sunset Lenses. This eliminates the need to use third-party apps to use these Lenses in Teams.

According to Snap, the integration is made possible by Camera Kit, Snap’s SDK that allows partners to leverage Snap’s AR technology in their own applications and websites. Besides Teams, Microsoft has also used Camera Kit to bring Snap AR into Flip, Microsoft’s video learning platform where educators can post topic prompts to spark video discussions amongst students.

Image source: Microsoft.

To turn on Snapchat Lenses before a meeting, Microsoft Teams users will need to click Video Effects, then select More Video Effects, select Snapchat under the Filters category, and finally, select any Lens and then click the Join Now button.

Users already in a meeting can turn on Snapchat Lenses by clicking on More. . ., select Video Effects, scroll to the Filters category and click on Snapchat, and finally, select any Lens from the list and clicking Apply or Preview to view the changes.

However, Microsoft has assured users that the admin of the chat has the control to enable/disable the video filter apps’ availability.