Although Microsoft Teams is more popular in work and educational environments, where it"s often the software of choice for online communication and collaboration, the tool is also available for Microsoft 365 customers in personal capacities. The company regularly updates the software with new features, capabilities, and enhancements, such as the upcoming ones that we detailed a couple of days ago. Now, the Redmond tech firm has announced a major update for Teams personal users, bringing a feature that had surprisingly not been available before now.
Essentially, Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Premium subscribers can now leverage meeting recordings for online calls taking place on Teams. This is something that is a core feature in the enterprise version of Teams but had interestingly not been available with personal licenses up until now.
Microsoft hopes that by enabling this capability, customers who use Teams in personal environments can also benefit. For example, a student learning piano from an instructor online can play back their recordings to practice more, while friends planning a trip can simply revisit their recordings to make notes later too.
Meeting recordings are available for up to 30 days on the cloud after the meeting ends, but they can also be downloaded for offline viewing beyond that. While they are available on the cloud, all participants can view them directly from within the meeting chat. Starting a meeting recording is as simple as pressing the More options (...) menu during a call and then pressing Start recording.
In order to utilize this feature in your personal environment, make sure that you have an active Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Premium subscription, and that your Teams app is fully updated. Microsoft says that this capability was highly requested by customers, and you can provide further feedback on it through the in-app feedback form or the dedicated portal available here.