Last week, we posted on its coming demise, and today Skype—the original internet live calling service that actually worked—is kaput. Microsoft, which never quite knew what to do with its $8.5 billion acquisition after buying it in 2011, finally put it out of its misery.
Goodbye Skype, hello Teams. Skype is retiring in May 2025. Beginning March 2025, you will be able to sign into Microsoft Teams Free with your Skype credentials, and your chats and contacts will be right there ready for you. Enjoy the features you love about Skype, including free calling and messaging, as well as new features like meetings and communities, all on Teams app.
Andrew Cunningham adds context on something that was revolutionary in its moment: "RIP Skype". "Skype lost momentum after the Microsoft purchase, partly due to a redesign that people didn't like and partly because upstarts like Zoom were offering new features and better call quality. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and all kinds of office jobs shifted to remote work, it was Zoom and not Skype that was in a better position to become the video-chatting app everyone was trapped in."
• Skype's IP-leaking security bug creates denial-of-service cottage industry
• Report: Skype and investor Silver Lake screwed employees out of stock options
• Microsoft contractors are listening to your Skype conversations
• Privacy groups, activists and journalists call on Skype to document its privacy practices
• NSA can wiretap Skype wholesale
• German Bavarian gov't caught buying malware to intercept Skype calls
• New Skype malware threat reported: Poison Ivy
• Whatsapp, Slack, Skype and apps based on popular Electron framework vulnerable to backdoor attacks
