Well, today’s the day. After all these years, Skype is finally shutting down. That familiar blue icon and bubbly ringtone are going dark, leaving some people looking for a new destination for their video calls and chats.
Skype is officially saying goodbye today, May 5, 2025. Microsoft has finally pulled the plug, sticking to the plan they announced back in February. It’s the end of an era for a service that, for many (myself included), was their first foray into voice and video calls over the internet. Before smartphones made video calls easier–and even for a while after they did–Skype was the way you talked to family across the world or had a face-to-face chat with a friend without racking up a massive phone bill.
For years, Skype was the name in online communication. You didn’t just make a video call, you “Skyped” someone. It was one of those rare brands that became a verb–like “Googling.” But like many internet pioneers, it eventually got overtaken by newer, faster, and better alternatives. While Skype tried to keep up, adding features and changing its interface, it often felt as old as it was. The rise of messaging apps and the corporate world’s embrace of platforms like Slack and eventually Microsoft’s own Teams spelled doom for Skype.
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Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype back in 2011 for a hefty $8.5 billion was significant at the time. You’d think that kind of investment would solidify its future, but instead, it seemed to mark the beginning of a slow decline. Microsoft’s attention gradually shifted as it moved Teams, initially built for businesses, more into the consumer space. It offers many of the same features as Skype, plus a whole lot more.
The big question is, what does this mean for you if you’re still holding onto your Skype account? Microsoft is, unsurprisingly, pushing people towards Teams. You can sign in to Teams with your existing Skype credentials, and all of your contacts and chat history will be automatically moved over. There’s no replacement for Skype’s telephone number features, but Microsoft is honoring any Skype credits you may have had leftover.
If Teams isn’t your cup of tea, you’ll need to look for alternatives. There are plenty of options out there now, such as Zoom, which has taken over as the default verb for video calls, and Google Meet for video calls, or messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram that also handle voice and video chats perfectly fine. The bad news is that today is your last day to make the switch and export any data you want to keep. After that, your access will be cut off, and eventually, your data will be deleted.
It’s a bit sad to see a service that was so groundbreaking in its time finally close its doors. Skype walked so many of today’s communication tools could run. While its final years might have been less glamorous, its impact is undeniable. Despite not having used Skype for many years, I’ll have fond memories of it. So long.
Source: TechCrunch
