How to Blur Your Background on a FaceTime Call on Mac - MacRumors
Skip to Content

How to Blur Your Background on a FaceTime Call on Mac

by

In macOS Monterey, Apple brought several enhancements to FaceTime on Mac, including new visual and audio effects to improve the video call experience.

macOS Monterey FaceTime Portrait Mode
One of the new visual features is Portrait mode in calls. With this mode enabled, you can blur your background so that the focus is on you rather than what's behind you.

The feature is commonly used by other video conferencing apps like Zoom and Teams to obscure untidy domestic scenes and other sources of distraction or embarrassment. Here's how it works in ‌‌FaceTime‌‌ on macOS Monterey‌.

  1. Launch FaceTime on your Mac.
  2. Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar.
  3. Select Video Effects -> Portrait Mode.

FaceTime

Once you've done that, you and the person on the other end of the next call will see your environment faintly blurred, just like in a Portrait mode photo.

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

Popular Stories

iOS 27 and FaceTime Feature

iOS 27 Improves FaceTime in Three Ways

Thursday June 11, 2026 6:27 am PDT by
iOS 27 includes three enhancements for FaceTime, with the most notable one being a dual camera feature on some newer iPhone models. On the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, a Dual Capture feature allows you to record video of yourself and what is in front of you at the same time. Starting with iOS 27, this feature is now supported in the FaceTime app on these...
iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Get Two New Perks on iOS 27

Tuesday June 9, 2026 11:29 am PDT by
If you pay for extra iCloud storage on your iPhone, beyond the 5GB included for free, you might receive two more perks on iOS 27 at no additional cost. First, Apple said there will be daily usage limits for some of the new and enhanced Apple Intelligence features on iOS 27, including image generation. However, the company noted that "increased access" is available with "most" iCloud+ storage ...
CarPlay Siri AI

Apple Announces New CarPlay Features on iOS 27, Including Video Apps

Monday June 8, 2026 4:17 pm PDT by
Back at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that it was planning to allow CarPlay users to watch video via AirPlay in their vehicles while they are not driving, but we did not hear many specific details about this functionality until now. In a WWDC 2026 video aimed at developers, Apple said the CarPlay video feature is available in new vehicles that support it. When playing a video in an iPhone app...