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

Microsoft Teams PC
Microsoft Teams PC (Image credit: Windows Central)

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.

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 tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He's covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean's journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.