Skype Is Finally Shutting Down on May 5

Microsoft today announced that it will officially retire Skype on May 5, 2025, concluding its 14-year tenure as the owner of the once-dominant internet calling and messaging service (via Bloomberg).

skype logo
Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion in what was then its largest-ever acquisition. At its peak, Skype had more than 300 million monthly active users and was synonymous with internet-based voice and video calling. The service steadily declined in relevance in recent years, with its active user base shrinking to approximately 36 million by 2023 as competitors such as Zoom, WhatsApp, and Microsoft's own Teams platform gained traction.

Teams has since grown to 320 million monthly users, far surpassing Skype's remaining user base. The company's decision to discontinue Skype is apparently part of a broader effort to prioritize artificial intelligence features within Teams. Employees currently working on Skype will be reassigned to other projects rather than being laid off.

Skype played a key role in popularizing VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology, enabling businesses and individuals to connect around the world with minimal costs. It also served as an early testbed for AI-powered real-time language translation, a feature Microsoft showcased in a widely publicized demonstration in 2014. However, its frequent UI changes, reliability issues, ill-conceived social media-like features, gradual shift toward enterprise, and inability to keep pace with newer competitors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately led to its obsolescence.

As Microsoft finalizes the shutdown process, existing Skype users will have until May 5 to migrate their data and contacts to Teams or seek alternative solutions.

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Top Rated Comments

GMShadow Avatar
17 weeks ago


part of a broader effort to prioritize artificial intelligence features within Teams
Part of Microsoft's greater commitment to make all of their products progressively worse.

And I know, it's hard to imagine Teams being any worse, but I've no doubt they'll manage to do it.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Moonjumper Avatar
17 weeks ago
Skype used to work well when others did not. Microsoft have replaced it with Teams which doesn't work well when other do.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
17 weeks ago
Imagine thinking anyone will want to use Teams outside of work.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
17 weeks ago
Wait, what?! This is the first I have heard of this. I still use Skype fairly frequently for one thing: making international calls to people/numbers that aren’t on FaceTime or WhatsApp.

Skype is massively cheaper than phone company rates for this. Like 50-100x cheaper in some cases. And importantly, numbers you are calling through Skype see correct caller ID, you don’t come up as some suspicious ghost call! And the call quality is usually great.

Can anyone recommend a good alternative VOIP app for making international calls, if Skype shuts down?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannys1 Avatar
17 weeks ago
I've never really had to use any of them much, thankfully as I hate video calls. But I never understand why Zoom just popped up seemingly out of no where during Covid for all the mainstream people to use instead of the already established Skype. Suddenly then Teams appeared as well.

I don't really understand why they're all the same thing working in the same way - they're equally good/bad as each other. Plus you've got video calling now on every single messaging app, Facetime, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, WeChat, Snapchat, probably Instagram somewhere?
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Böhme417 Avatar
17 weeks ago
That’s a bummer. Skype was always my favorite. Teams sucks, and I refuse to use Zoom.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)