Skype – video call service platform, finally shut down operations, having spent 22 years
Skype
Skype – video call service platform, finally shut down operations, having spent 22 years
Parent company, Microsoft, had announced the discontinuation of the service in February, urging Skype users to migrate to its communications app, Teams.
The Skype team thanked its amazing community for sticking with the service over the years, appreciating them for relying on the video call platform to connect with family, friends, and colleagues all over the world.
Saluting them for their support and patronage, the team told disappointed users that the platform ceasing operations is not the end, since Microsoft Teams has also been launched to continue from where Skype stopped.
“As we say goodbye to Skype, we want to thank our incredible community. Over the years, you’ve connected with family, friends, and colleagues across the world.
This isn’t the end—it’s a new beginning. Join us on Microsoft Teams Free and continue making great memories,” the team said via its official X page.
As of today, May 6, 2025, the service will cease to exist all across the globe. Founded in Luxembourg in 2003 by Niklas Zennström of Sweden and Janus Friis of Denmark, the service earned positive reviews after allowing users to make free voice and video calls over the internet for the first time.
It was mainly useful for international communication as it helped users avoid high telephone costs, which was a real pain in the neck until then. At the peak of its powers, Skype was home to at least 100 million users every month, worldwide.
But according to Similarweb, a popular statistics service, over the years, the number of users gradually fell to around 30 million per month, amid intense competition with heavyweights like Zoom and WhatsApp.
Microsoft purchased Skype 14 years ago for $8.5 billion and integrated it into its ecosystem, including Windows and Office; however, despite this integration, Skype simply failed to recover what it had already lost to rival platforms.
Microsoft Teams, which was launched in 2017, is currently one of the leading providers in the collaboration software market, and it looks set to play a vital role in corporate communications for the foreseeable future.
According to the President of collaborative apps and platforms at Microsoft, Jeff Teper, the company decided to shut Skype down due to plans to streamline its free consumer communications offerings and adapt to customer needs more easily.
“Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and supporting countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of the journey,” he said.
