Microsoft announces shutdown of Skype after 21 years, urges users to switch to Teams.

In a surprising move, Microsoft has announced it will officially shut down Skype in May 2025, marking the end of the pioneering internet calling platform’s 21-year run. The company is encouraging users to migrate to its free Teams app before access to Skype accounts is revoked.

The announcement was made via Skype’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, with Microsoft urging users to sign in to Microsoft Teams Free using their Skype credentials to retain their chats and contacts.

“Over the coming days, you can sign in to Microsoft Teams Free with your Skype account to stay connected with all your chats and contacts. Thank you for being part of Skype,” the company stated.

The Decline of Skype and Rise of Teams

Launched in 2003, Skype quickly became a dominant platform for internet-based voice and video calls, eliminating the need for traditional phone carriers. Its popularity soared, especially in the pre-smartphone era, as it provided free and low-cost communication options for users worldwide.

However, Skype’s dominance began to wane with the rise of smartphones and competing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, which saw massive adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic. Microsoft, which acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, had already been gradually phasing it out in favor of Teams.

Jeff Teper, President of Microsoft 365 Collaborative Apps and Platforms, explained the reasoning behind the move:

“We’ve learned a lot from Skype over the years that we’ve put into Teams as we’ve evolved Teams over the last seven to eight years. But we felt like now is the time because we can be simpler for the market, for our customer base, and we can deliver more innovation faster just by being focused on Teams.”

User Transition and Data Migration

Microsoft has assured users that they can export their Skype data before the shutdown. Additionally, Skype credits will be transferable to Teams, but the company has already stopped selling new monthly subscriptions.

While exact current user numbers remain unclear, Microsoft reported that Skype had 36 million daily active users in 2023, down from 40 million in 2020. At its peak in 2016, the service boasted over 300 million users. Meanwhile, usage of Teams has surged, with the total number of minutes spent on Teams calls quadrupling over the past two years.

Microsoft’s Shift to Teams

Microsoft launched Teams in 2016 as a cloud-based communication and collaboration tool, integrating its Office 365 services. The move put it in direct competition with Skype, leading to the gradual phasing out of Skype for Business, which was officially retired in 2021.

The integration of Teams as the primary communication tool was further solidified in 2021 when Microsoft designated it as the default app for Windows 11, pushing Skype further into the background.

By late 2023, Microsoft had begun removing key Skype features, such as the ability to add credit to accounts or purchase Skype phone numbers, signaling the eventual discontinuation of the service.

The Future of Microsoft’s Communication Services

With Teams now at a high adoption level, Microsoft believes it has the necessary infrastructure to support personal and business communication needs. Teper emphasized that the decision to shut down Skype was carefully considered:

“We feel we have the mileage under our belt on the adoption by consumers, [who are] using Teams in their personal lives. We’ve thought about [shutting down Skype] for a while, but we felt like the product had to show the end-user adoption with consumers telling us it was ready.”

The transition marks the end of an era for Skype, which once revolutionized digital communication. While longtime users may lament its closure, Microsoft is betting on Teams to lead the next chapter of online collaboration and connectivity.

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