It had a good innings but it’s time for Skype to ring off one last time. Microsoft has confirmed it is shutting down the pioneering video calling service it acquired in 2011, replacing it with the free version of Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft president of Microsoft 365 collaborative apps and platforms Jeff Teper confirmed the news to The Verge.
“Skype users will be in control, they’ll have the choice,” said Teper. “They can migrate their conversation history and their contacts out and move on if they want, or they can migrate to Teams.”
Skype will be available to use in its current form until May 5, 2025, at which point the famous service will stop working for good.
Skype was launched in 2003 by Estonian founders before it was acquired by eBay in 2005, eventually ending up as a Microsoft product when the Redmond firm acquired it in 2011. It has been reported that the word ‘Skype’ is short for “Sky peer-to-peer”, which references the peer-to-peer networking the original technology was built on.
The service helped to introduce consumers worldwide to the idea of free video calls. Many of us will remember, however, adding Skype credit to our early accounts in order to make international phone calls.
It cost, but it was still far cheaper than the rates mobile providers were charging for overseas calls, and it paved the way for now more popular, free video chat services such as WhatsApp, FaceTime and Zoom.
Microsoft told The Verge that if you want to keep using your Skype account, you can do until May 5. Until then, you can switch to Microsoft Teams by transferring your data to the free app, which will include your contacts, message history and call logs.
In many ways, Skype was a successor to the formative MSN Messenger service many millennials will look back at with fond memories. MSN was a text-based free chat service, which Skype included too, while adding the video call function as webcam use rose alongside broadband connections that were fast enough to handle video calls.
If you don’t want to switch to Teams, Microsoft says you’ll be able to export your Skype data to keep. The firm also said it will honor existing Skype credits, according to The Verge’s report, but it won’t allow new customers to access paid Skype features or make or receive international or domestic calls. Skype Numbers, meanwhile, will need to be ported to be used with another provider.
The move to kill off Skype is not surprising, but it will evoke nostalgic memories for many. Or Microsoft, it’s another move to try and get people using Teams for personal use.
