Microsoft Signals the End of an Era: Skype to Be Shut Down
Microsoft is preparing to bid farewell to Skype, the pioneering chat application that revolutionized how people communicate. After an impressive 22-year run, the company has announced that it will be discontinuing the service, with the official shutdown slated for May 5, 2025.
Skype exploded in popularity during the early 2000s, becoming a household name for text, audio, and video calls. However, over time, the platform faced increasing competition from rivals like Zoom, Google Meet, Apple’s FaceTime, and Meta’s Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, leading Microsoft to re-evaluate and shift its focus.
Microsoft has decided to end support for Skype and prioritize its own Teams app. A notice from Microsoft states, “Starting in May, Skype will no longer be available.” The tech giant is urging users to migrate their conversations and calls to Teams.
Migration to Teams
While Skype will become obsolete, users won’t immediately lose their accounts. Instead, they will be able to log into Microsoft Teams using their existing Skype credentials. Within a few days, users should be able to see all their contacts and past conversations within the Teams platform. Users also have the option to export their contacts and chat history from Skype before the service is terminated.
The Rise and Fall of a Tech Giant
Skype’s demise may not come as a complete surprise. The company’s official blog, where updates were once regularly posted, ceased activity in May 2024.
Skype’s origins trace back to Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, collaborating with a team of four Estonian developers in the early 2000s. Launched in August 2003, the app was acquired by eBay in September 2005 for $2.6 billion and later by Microsoft in May 2011 for a staggering $8.5 billion. At its peak in late 2010, Skype boasted a user base of 660 million worldwide, with 300 million active monthly users in August 2015. However, by March 2020, the monthly user count had dropped to 100 million.
Skype’s name is derived from “Sky peer-to-peer,” reflecting its initial reliance on peer-to-peer calling technology.
The Tech Editor’s Perspective
The Sun’s tech editor, Sean Keach, shared personal reflections on Skype’s decline:
“I used to be a Skype obsessive. Well, originally an MSN obsessive, but then I graduated to Skype and never looked back,” Keach said. “I could chat to friends while gaming and video call my mum, all in one app. It was a game-changer. Hours (and probably entire days) were spent on Skype, chatting away. It felt like the future.”
“But I’ll be honest: I haven’t thought about Skype in years. Probably a decade. It’s long been ditched in favour of chat apps like WhatsApp and FaceTime on my phone, and Google Meet or Zoom on the computer. Discord is where I go for shouting about video games these days. Skype once felt almost like a byword for calling people online.”
Skype’s availability spanned 108 languages and had 36 million daily users as recently as February 2023, a slight decrease from 40 million in March 2020.
With Skype’s legacy coming to an end, former users are left with the memories and the option to say their goodbyes via other platforms.
