On a Mac, iPhone or iPad, the best way to blur or replace your background is with the operating system's own video effects. They put less load on your device than effects in the browser, and they work in Safari too.

Why the system's effects run better

MeetOne's video effects are created in the browser. For every single video frame, many times a second, an image analysis model separates you from your background. The browser then puts the picture back together and passes it on as a new video stream. All of this runs inside the web page itself, using the general-purpose tools a browser provides (JavaScript, WebAssembly, WebGL). That keeps the processor and graphics chip busy – capacity the video appointment itself may need – and drains a laptop's battery.

macOS, iOS and iPadOS, by contrast, apply their effects in the system's own camera processing, before the image reaches any app. They use parts of the Apple chip built for exactly this kind of image analysis, such as the Neural Engine. Your browser receives a finished image and has nothing left to calculate.

What you get:

  • Less load on the processor and battery – and more headroom for smooth video and clear audio.
  • Works in Safari too: on a Mac the effects apply in Safari as well as in Chrome or Edge, on iPhone and iPad in Safari.
  • More options: adjustable blur, Studio Light and, on a Mac, a background with your own image.

Prerequisites

  • Mac: a Mac with Apple silicon – or an iPhone you use as your Mac's camera (Continuity Camera). Background requires macOS Sequoia 15 or later.
  • iPhone and iPad: a recent model. Open the video appointment in Safari.

Which effects you are offered depends on your device, camera and system version. Apple lists the exact requirements in the guides linked below.

How to use video effects on a Mac

  1. Join the video appointment and turn on your camera.
  2. In the menu bar at the top right, click the green camera icon – the Video menu. It appears there while an app is using your camera.
  3. Choose the effect you want:
    • Portrait blurs your background. Use the arrow next to it to adjust the strength.
    • Background replaces it with a color, a built-in image or your own picture. To choose one, click the preview next to Background.
    • Studio Light dims the background and brightens your face.
  4. To turn an effect off, choose it again in the same menu.

On macOS Ventura, you'll find Portrait and Studio Light in Control Center under Video Effects instead.

How to use video effects on iPhone and iPad

  1. Join the video appointment in Safari and turn on your camera.
  2. Open Control Center: swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen – on an iPhone with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom edge.
  3. Tap the video effects tile – depending on your iOS version it's called Video Effects or carries the app's name, Safari.
  4. Tap Portrait to blur your background. Use the slider to adjust the strength.

If you use Chrome or Edge on a Mac and have MeetOne's video effects turned on as well, turn them off (Remove background blur or Remove background image). Otherwise your picture is processed twice.

Common problems

  • There's no green camera icon in the menu bar. The Video menu only appears while your camera is on, and only from macOS Sonoma onwards. On older versions, open Control Center and choose Video Effects.
  • Portrait or Background isn't offered. Your Mac or camera doesn't support the effect – a Mac with an Intel processor, for example. In that case, use MeetOne's video effects in Chrome or Edge.
  • Balloons, hearts or fireworks suddenly appear in your picture. These are the Reactions in macOS and iOS, triggered by hand gestures. Turn off Reactions in the Video menu (Mac) or in Control Center (iPhone and iPad).

Apple's guides

Still have questions? Contact us at support@meetone.io.