A video background in WhatsApp calls, on your Mac

What WhatsApp supports on its own

10 preset backgrounds, including blur, and 10 filters. No uploads of your own images or videos.

Source: WhatsApp Blog: Introducing Filters and Backgrounds for Video Calls, checked October 2026.

How to use a video background in WhatsApp

1. Pick your video in Backdrop Cam

   Click the Backdrop Cam icon in the menu bar, then the background thumbnail. Add a clip with +, from Photos, or by dragging a video file in. Click a tile to use it.

2. Choose Backdrop Cam in WhatsApp

   In WhatsApp for Mac, select Backdrop Cam as the camera from the call window's video options or in WhatsApp's settings.

3. Leave WhatsApp's effects off

   Don't add a WhatsApp background on top; Backdrop Cam has already replaced yours.

What WhatsApp's backgrounds are

WhatsApp's call effects are a fixed set: Blur, Living room, Office, Cafe, Pebbles, Foodie, Smoosh, Beach, Sunset, Celebration and Forest, plus filters, Touch up and Low light. They're fun, but you can't bring your own clip.

Messenger and other chat apps

Meta retired the Messenger desktop app for Mac in December 2025; Messenger now runs at messenger.com in your browser, where Backdrop Cam works like any other camera. The same goes for Telegram and Signal desktop calls: if the app lets you choose a camera, choose Backdrop Cam.