Thread: End of an era: Microsoft to shut down Skype, shifting users to Teams

May 5th apparently.

Before Zoom, before FaceTime, and before video-calling became a default feature of today’s messaging apps — there was Skype.
Microsoft paid $8.5 billion in 2011 to acquire what was once a dominant player in voice and video calls over the internet. But conflicting internal development efforts and tough competition have taken their toll.
And now, more than two decades after it launched, Skype is hanging up.
Microsoft confirmed Friday that it is officially retiring Skype in May and consolidating its consumer communication services into Microsoft Teams.
Skype users will be able to migrate to Teams by logging into Teams with their Skype credentials to access their chats and contacts. Those who do not migrate can export their Skype data, according to a blog post from Microsoft.
“Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and enabling countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of the journey,” wrote Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 365 Collaborative Apps + Platforms.
The company had planned to announce the news next week, before it leaked Thursday night, through a message about the transition in the underlying code for the latest Skype for Windows preview.
There are no headcount reductions associated with the change at this time, according to a spokesperson. Employees working on Skype will continue to work on Teams.
Founded in 2003, Skype was acquired two years later by eBay for $2.6 billion. eBay sold a majority stake to investors in 2009, and Microsoft bought the company in 2011.
At the time, it was Microsoft’s largest acquisition, and remains its fourth-largest deal behind Activision Blizzard ($68.7 billion, 2023), LinkedIn ($26.2 billion, 2017), and Nuance ($19.7 billion, 2021).
Microsoft already had technology similar to Skype’s services for video calling and messaging. But it was betting that Skype’s popularity would help the tech giant find its footing online.
Skype was synonymous with video calling at the time. It had an iconic ringtone, and “Skyping” became a common verb, much like “Googling” — a status coveted by tech companies. The brand appeared frequently in pop culture and media.
“Skype is a phenomenal product and brand that is loved by hundreds of millions of people around the world,” Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO at the time, said in a news release announcing the completion of the acquisition.
Microsoft would go on to integrate Skype into its ecosystem, including Windows, Xbox, Outlook, and Office. This continued as recently as last year, when Microsoft integrated AI-powered Bing into Skype.
However, the company also maintained its Lync messaging, calling, and video-conferencing service for businesses for several years after the acquisition, diluting its efforts and keeping it from building a stronger, unified brand.
Eventually, the company turned Lync into Skype for Business. But technical struggles and a flurry of competitors, such as WhatsApp, also contributed to Skype’s downfall. Microsoft announced plans to retire Skype for Business in 2017 and replace it with Teams, which it had unveiled earlier that year.
Skype had 40 million daily active users in March 2020, when Zoom’s video conferencing tools began attracting wide adoption amid the pandemic.
Overall Microsoft Teams usage reached 320 million monthly active users in December 2023.

https://www.geekwire.com/2025/end-of...ter-8-5b-deal/

Those scamming cnuts really did drive that thing into the ground.

'De-activating' credit.



Cox

And, thinking about it, I haven't heard that uniquely annoying call tone for at least four years.

'ekky ek ek' can also get old., mind.

^Ha! I haven't used Skype in so long, it is crappy really. I prefer teams or even better is google meet.
The weird thing is that a lot of companies from overseas still use Skype for interviews. The quality is shit with Skype.

Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe

^Ha! I haven't used Skype in so long, it is crappy really. I prefer teams or even better is google meet.
The weird thing is that a lot of companies from overseas still use Skype for interviews. The quality is shit with Skype.

Spectacularly missing the point.

what I liked about Skype was that you can call a landline for a very reasonable price, I don’t think teams or any of that other competitors offer that at all.

^ I use Voip to call landlines from overseas, cheap as chips but the quality is sometimes a bit lacking.

I have kept using Skype because I have this one mate who uses it, he's my only contact and I'm really glad that it's being shut down because it will force him to use Whatsapp or LINE that actually work. It's the mate I often meet up with in Bangkok during my passport renewals and this will make meeting up at Fitzgeralds a hell of a lot easier, without having to try and arrange things on the cumbersome Skype.

I find with Skype that messages get delayed, sometimes by hours, and after answering one the notification badge remains on your phone, etc etc.

I'm looking forward to deleting the Skype app from my phone.

I haven't used it for years.

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