After kickstarting the market for making calls over the Internet 23 years ago, Skype is closing down. Microsoft, which acquired the messaging and calling app 14 years ago, said it would be retiring it from active duty on May 5 to double down on Teams. Skype users have 10 weeks to decide what they want to do with their account, TechCrunch reported.
It’s not clear how many people are impacted. The most recent numbers that Microsoft had shared were in 2023, when it said it had more than 36 million users — a long way from Skype’s peak of 300 million users.
“We know this is a big deal for our Skype users, and we’re very grateful for their support of Skype and all the learning that have factored into Teams over the last seven years.,” Jeff Tepper, president of Microsoft 365 collaborative Apps and platforms, told TechCrunch in an interview this week. “At this point, putting all our focus behind Teams will let us give a simpler message and drive faster innovation.”
Between now and May 5, users will have the option to migrate all of their contacts and chat data over to Microsoft’s Teams platform. Alternatively, users can download their Skype data using the app’s built-in export tool.
Microsoft posted: The way we communicate has evolved significantly over the years. From instant messaging to video calls, technology has continuously transformed how we connect with each other.
In order to streamline our free consumer communications offerings so we can more easily adapt to customer needs, we will be retiring Skype in May 2025 to focus on Microsoft Teams (free), our modern communications and collaboration hub.
With Teams, users have access to many of the same core features they use in Skype such as one-on-one calls and group calls, messaging, and file sharing. Additionally, Teams offers enhanced features like hosting meetings, managing calendars, and building and joining communities for free.
Hundreds of millions of people already use Teams as their hub for teamwork, helping them stay connected and engaged at work, school, and at home. In the past two years, the number of minutes spent in meetings by consumers of Teams has grown 4X, reflecting the value Teams brings to everyday communication and collaboration.
CNBC reported: On Friday, Microsoft announced that the 21-year-old calling and messaging service will shut down on May 5. The software company is encouraging Skype users to mitigate to its free Teams app.
Skype won attention in the 2000s for giving people a way to talk without paying the phone company, but stumbled in the mobile era and didn’t enjoy a major resurgence during the pandemic. Some people have forgotten that it’s still available, given the many other options for chatting and calling.
Over the next few days, Microsoft will start allowing people to sign in to Teams with Skype credentials, and Skype contacts and chats will transfer over, according to a blog post. People can also export their Skype data. The company will stop selling monthly Skype subscriptions, and users with credits can keep using them in teams.