Microsoft Teams personal and work/school can now run side-by-side

Microsoft Teams PC
Microsoft Teams PC (Image credit: Future)

What you need to know

  • Microsoft Teams now supports having a personal and work/school account open at the same time.
  • The feature has been rolling out gradually since February 2021.
  • Teams does not support having two work/school accounts open at the same time.

I spotted the new functionality after an update to Teams on both of my PCs. The capability has been rolling out gradually since February, according to the Microsoft 365 roadmap.

The icons of the two instances of Microsoft Teams are slightly different to make them easy to differentiate. The personal version of Teams has its logo within a white circle, while the work/school version just shows the app's logo.

Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)

At this time, there isn't an option to run multiple instances of work/school accounts at the same time.

Microsoft appears to be pushing the personal version of Teams a bit harder these days. A "Chat" app powered by the personal version of Teams will ship with Windows 11.

Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott is a news writer and apps editor for Windows Central with 11+ years of experience. A Nottingham Trent journalism graduate, Sean has covered the industry’s arc from the Lumia era to the launch of Windows 11 and generative AI. Having started at Thrifter, he uses his expertise in price tracking to help readers find genuine hardware value.

Beyond tech news, Sean is a UK sports media pioneer. In 2017, he became one of the first to stream via smartphone and is an expert in AP Capture systems. A tech-forward coach, he was named 2024 BAFA Youth Coach of the Year. He is focused on using technology—from AI to Clipchamp—to gain a practical edge.