Microsoft today highlighted Skype 8 and recommended that customers upgrade to the new software as the company plans to retire Skype 7, aka Skype classic, later this year.

Skype 8 includes free HD video and screensharing calls with up to 24 people, reaction options for messages in conversations and @mentions to get someone's attention in a group chat, a chat media gallery for viewing photos and links, customizable themes, a notification panel, and options to share photos, videos, and files over Skype that are up to 300MB in size.

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In the future, Microsoft plans to add additional features that include read receipts, private conversations with end-to-end encryption, call recording, profile invites, and group links for initiating a call with multiple people. Skype 8 features are also rolling out on the iPad starting today.

Microsoft is encouraging all Skype users to update to the new 8.0 version of the software as earlier versions of Skype will stop working on September 1, 2018. Microsoft says it is discontinuing older versions of Skype in order to provide the best possible Skype experience with no quality or reliability issues.

Note: A previous version of this post listed the 8.0 update as new, due to the fact that Microsoft published a blog post announcing it as new this morning. Our readers have pointed out that Skype 8 has been available for some time, with 8.25 listed as the current version of the software.

Top Rated Comments

Soba Avatar
68 months ago
Whether this release is news or not, Skype is still REALLY terrible.

Thanks for wrecking what was once a great product, MS!
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rictus007 Avatar
68 months ago
Wow I was Not aware that people where still using Skype .... I though it was just me and few other friends
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
68 months ago
No thanks, NSA.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclo Avatar
68 months ago
Am I missing something? I’m on Mac and have been running version 8.25.0.5 for about two or three weeks now. Skype is showing no updates available.
Thanks for all the comments here, guys. I've updated the post. We're not big Skype users and didn't realize Skype 8 was already available (and updated to 8.25!). I'm not sure why Microsoft posted Skype 8.0 as new today, other than to highlight the upcoming discontinuation of Skype 7, so I've reworded the post. Appreciate all the info :)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ikir Avatar
68 months ago
Whether this release is news or not, Skype is still REALLY terrible.

Thanks for wrecking what was once a great product, MS!
Yep, already deleted on my mobile devices, I will keep Mac version for a while since I need for just one work contact...
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Neepman Avatar
68 months ago
Skype was great as in "was". The interface gets worse and worse but the calls seem stable once you are connected. Facetime seems to always get choppy no matter what the bandwith is after a few minutes.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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