GuidedView vs Microsoft Teams: meeting screen sharing or help on the call

At a glance

What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is Microsoft's chat and meetings app. It fits naturally for businesses already on Microsoft 365, and it is also sold on its own as Teams Essentials. Inside a Teams meeting, participants can share their screen from the Teams app on a computer, iPhone or Android phone. Outside customers can join as guests without a Microsoft account by entering a name, and if the meeting lobby is on, the organizer admits them. As of November 2026, Teams Essentials costs $4 per user per month paid yearly and includes meetings of up to 30 hours with up to 300 participants, plus recordings and transcripts. A free version, Teams for personal use, caps meetings at 60 minutes and has no meeting recordings. Microsoft Teams is built first for collaboration inside a company. For customer support, it fits best when the customer is joining a planned meeting, rather than when they are already on the phone with you.

Can Microsoft Teams share an iPhone or Android screen?

Yes, from the Teams app. On iPhone, the customer taps Share in the meeting controls, chooses Share screen and taps Start Broadcast, then Stop Broadcast when done. Microsoft notes that Share screen shows the entire screen, including notifications and other activity, and advises turning on Do Not Disturb so others do not see notifications.

On Android, the customer taps Share, then Share screen, then Start presenting. Microsoft's article for Teams for personal use says the customer can choose a single app or the entire screen, which limits what the viewer sees. On Android 15 and later, Android itself also hides notification content and password fields from viewers. Teams does not document a pause; the customer can only stop presenting.

On a phone, tapping a Teams meeting link leads either to the app store to get Teams or, if the app is installed, to Join meeting. Microsoft documents joining from a browser on a computer, not on a phone. With GuidedView, the link opens the free GuidedView app on iPhone or Android, or the browser on a computer, and the customer needs no account.

Can Teams give or take control of a phone?

No. Microsoft states that mobile does not have an option to give or take control; give control is a desktop feature. On a Windows or Mac computer, Teams can hand control of a shared screen to another participant, which is useful for internal IT help. For a customer on a phone, Teams is view-only, the same as GuidedView.

The difference is what surrounds the view. In GuidedView, the customer confirms who sent the invitation before anything is shared, can tap Pause before entering a password, verification code or payment details, and is the only one who can resume. Each invitation link works once, only the agent who sent it can view the session, and sessions are never recorded. The security page explains each control.

What happens to the phone call?

A Teams screen share happens inside a Teams meeting. People can dial in to a Teams meeting by phone through Audio Conferencing, but Microsoft licenses it separately: each organizer who schedules or hosts dial-in meetings needs an Audio Conferencing license, which is included in Microsoft 365 and Office 365 E5 and is an add-on for plans such as Business Standard, E1 and E3. Attendees who dial in need no license. Whether Teams Essentials includes dial-in is worth confirming with Microsoft. Either way, a dial-in connects the customer to Teams' conference bridge, not to the call you were already on.

With GuidedView there is nothing to dial. Both people stay on their normal phone line, and the agent sends an invitation by text or email.

How does Teams pricing compare?

Teams Essentials is much cheaper per seat than GuidedView. Microsoft's page shows it as an annual subscription that renews automatically, so check Microsoft for any monthly option, and remember that phone dial-in may add Audio Conferencing licensing. GuidedView is $29.99 a month per account, billed monthly, and you can cancel anytime from the portal. See GuidedView pricing.

Which should you choose?

Teams and GuidedView often sit side by side: Teams for internal meetings and planned customer calls, GuidedView for the support call that starts on the phone. Read screen sharing vs remote access vs co-browsing for the bigger picture, or create an account.