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| Microsoft Teams has become an alternative to WhatsApp |
Microsoft has released a personal edition of Microsoft Teams. After previewing the service about a year ago, the platform is now available for free personal use with friends and family via mobile devices (Android and iOS) as well as desktop computers and the Internet.
If an alternate communication system for WhatsApp is searched after a controversial change in user data policy, Microsoft Teams may not be the name we were thinking of before.
However, after earning the "Workplace Collaboration Platform" nickname, it is now your preferred platform for staying in touch with family and friends.
This new service is almost like the company's Microsoft team, making it easy to chat, make video calls, and share calendars, websites, and files.
Microsoft continues to offer free 24/7 video calls to everyone featured in the November preview.
You can make video calls to up to 300 people within 24 hours. However, this is a temporary benefit in times of a pandemic.
Microsoft has limited conference call duration to 60 minutes after the pandemic and can hold up to 100 people. Meanwhile, free 24-hour video calls are available for interacting with two people.
You can also express yourself with gifs, chat animations, and emojis during a video call.
If you miss the group video call, the platform will record the text chat during the group video call.
Microsoft allows platform users to enable Together Mode, a feature that uses artificial intelligence to share face and shoulders and put you and other people in a virtual space.
The personal version of the platform is part of Microsoft's larger effort to stay in touch with consumers after leaving a host of key services.
The company has no plans to compete with iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or other chatting apps, but after the sudden spike during the pandemic, it became clear that the Zoom platform was on the horizon.
If you want to try Microsoft Teams for personal use, you can download the iOS, Android, or desktop apps or visit the Teams website directly.