(NEXSTAR) — Following a 21-year journey, the formerly popular video chat application Skype has been retired as of May 5.
“One person penned on X, ‘Farewell, Skype, rest in peace. You did your job admirably.’”
"Give one final listen to that classic Skype ringtone," someone else suggested, including a segment featuring the cheerful, smooth sound. tone .
Established in 2003 and based in Luxembourg, which is owned by Microsoft, Skype has been recognized for simplifying and reducing the cost of video calls for countless individuals around the world.
"Skype has played a crucial role in defining contemporary communication methods and facilitating numerous significant events, and we feel privileged to have been a part of this adventure," stated Jeff Teper, who leads collaborative apps and platforms at Microsoft, in a release.
Teper said the decision to shut down Skype comes as Microsoft looks to “streamline our free consumer communications offerings so we can more easily adapt to customer needs.”
What happens now for Skype users?
Skype users won’t be able to access their accounts anymore; however, they can utilize the same login information to sign into Microsoft Teams Free on any compatible device.
According to Microsoft, upon signing up, one’s contacts and chat history will be seamlessly transferred. Additionally, users will receive a notification within the Skype application "guiding them to initiate the process of migrating their information."
Microsoft notes the following information does not transfer to Teams Free:
- Conversations between Skype users and Teams work or school accounts won’t be transferred. Individuals using Teams Free can initiate new chats with Team’s work or school account holders and take advantage of additional features.
- Chat histories from Skype to Skype for Business will not be transferred during the migration process.
- 1:1 chats with self-history will not be transferred.
- Data from private conversations will not be transferred.
- The content from Copilot and bots won’t be supported within Teams Free, and there will also be no availability of chat history.
For devoted Skype users who prefer not to switch to Teams, they still have the choice to continue using Skype. export one’s Skype data .
Any individual who does not take action and does not sign in to Teams before January 2026 risks losing their information.
Microsoft acquired Skype In 2011 for $8.5 billion.
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