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Farewell, Skype. The 21-year-old platform that marked the earliest days of internet audio and video chat is closing its doors on 5 May, reported TheNew York Times. Fourteen years after acquiring the app for USD 8.5 bn from eBay, Microsoft has decided to integrate Skype into Microsoft Teams as an unpaid version, which would offer the same features as its predecessor, which includes video calls and group meetings.
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She peaked in high school. During the early noughties, Skype skyrocketed in popularity for being the first app to allow communication without needing a phone provider. “Skype pioneered audio and video calling on the web for many, many people,” Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 365 collaborative apps and platforms, said in an interview with CNBC. At its prime — around 2016 — Skype had 300 mn users.
Then came the pandemic… The initially revolutionary app — already struggling to innovate — became just another video chat provider with the rise of competitors. During the quarantine, Zoom, Whatsapp, and Microsoft Teams stole Skype’s spotlight, simply for having better UX — Zoom didn’t require users to create an account to join, Whatsapp only required a phone number, and Teams brought innovative features that helped it become the hub for remote workers. Fast forward to 2023: Skype’s userbase had waned to just 36 mn, while Teams’ had grown to 320 mn, Zoom saw 485 mn downloads, and Whatsapp saw a 40% spike in usage.
What happens now? Users will be able to sign into Teams using their Skype credentials over the next few days — this way their chats and contacts will be automatically transferred over, according to a Microsoft blog post. While this is in motion, Teams users will be able to contact Skype users, and vice versa. Users have until 5 May to decide whether they want to make the shift to Teams, or simply download and store their data locally. Skype subscriptions will no longer be available, but those with credits will be able to use them on Teams for a limited period.
