Microsoft Teams personal and work/school can now run side-by-side
You don't have to toggle between the personal and work/school versions of Teams anymore on the desktop.
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.
People using Microsoft Teams on their PC can now have a personal and work/school account open at the same time. Previously, you'd have to toggle between accounts. The functionality makes it much easier to communicate through the personal and work/school versions of Teams 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.
Hi Sean, our team is rolling out support for 1 work/school account and 1 personal account, and is currently working on support for multiple work accounts. You can follow our progress with this here: https://t.co/aCLgQ8LzgTHi Sean, our team is rolling out support for 1 work/school account and 1 personal account, and is currently working on support for multiple work accounts. You can follow our progress with this here: https://t.co/aCLgQ8LzgT— Microsoft Teams (@MicrosoftTeams) June 28, 2021June 28, 2021
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.
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.
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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.
