Microsoft has officially announced its decision to shut down Skype, the video calling and messaging application that has been very popular on the internet for many years, this coming May.
In its announcement, Microsoft said the decision to close Skype was to "streamline our free communications services to be more flexible to adapt to customer needs."
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| Skype will officially stop operating from May 2025 |
Skype was one of the first big startups to come out of Europe. The death knell for Skype came two years after Microsoft launched a desktop version of Teams and a completely new app.
Although Skype ushered in a new era of Internet communication, moving from voice calls to video and file sharing, the advent of smartphones and new messaging apps has seen Skype's user base decline dramatically over time.
Skype will officially end its mission after 23 years of promoting voice over the Internet service in May. Skype users have 10 weeks to decide what they want to do with their accounts.
Microsoft also provides detailed instructions on how to migrate data. Accordingly, users just need to log in with their Skype account and all messages and contacts will be synchronized to Teams.
Notably, the two platforms will still be able to communicate with each other until Skype officially shuts down. Microsoft even posted a video on YouTube instructing users on how to migrate their data. Those who don't want to switch to Teams can export their entire chat history before May 5.
It’s unclear how many users will be affected. The last figure Microsoft shared was in 2023, when Skype had more than 36 million users, down from its peak of 300 million.
Overall, Skype has been a major contributor to the growth of online communication, but its heyday is officially over. Microsoft is now encouraging users to switch to Teams before Skype shuts down permanently, marking a major shift in digital communication.
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