Farewell Skype: Microsoft will shut down its service on May 5 to focus on Teams

The end of an era is approaching. Microsoft has announced that it will shut down Skype, the messaging, calling, and video calling service that became one of the kings of connectivity, effective May 5, 2025. The goal of the technological giant is to focus its efforts on further promoting Teams.

«To optimize our free communication offerings for consumers and to adapt more easily to their needs, we will retire Skype in May 2025 to focus on Microsoft Teams (free), our modern communications and collaboration hub», explained the company through a post on its official blog.

Two Options: Migration to Teams or Data Download

In view of Skype’s closure, Microsoft offers affected users two options: migrate their data to Teams free of charge or download their Skype data to retain it, without transitioning to Teams.

In the first case, individuals with a Skype account who wish to switch to using Teams will be able to sign in to this platform for free with their Skype credentials. In this way, their chats and contacts will be automatically loaded into Teams, allowing users to resume their activities quickly and without complications.

Until May 5, users of Teams and Skype will be able to chat and make calls with each other, ensuring contact among users during the transition.

Microsoft assures that: «with Teams, users have access to many of the same basic features they use on Skype, such as individual and group calls, messaging, and file sharing. Additionally, Teams offers enhanced features, such as organizing meetings, managing calendars, and creating and joining communities for free».

As for the second option offered by the tech company, it will allow users to export their Skype data (chats, contacts, call history, etc.) using the integrated export tool in the application.

The truth is, we do not know for certain how many people this measure will affect, as the last figures of Skype users published by Microsoft date back to 2023. At that time, the platform had over 36 million users, a far cry from its heyday, when it reached a peak of 300 million.

Regarding Teams, the technology company has stated that, «in the last two years, the number of minutes that Teams users spend in meetings has quadrupled, reflecting the value that Teams brings to everyday communication and collaboration».

A brief history of Skype

The Swedish and Danish entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis created Skype in 2003 as a free internet calling service. For its development, they employed P2P (peer-to-peer) technology, similar to what propelled the success of Kazaa, another project from the founders.

Later, in September 2005, Skype was acquired by none other than eBay for $2.86 billion. The marketplace saw Skype as a way to improve communication between buyers and sellers on its platform. However, their plans did not work as users preferred to continue using email and other traditional contact methods.

As a result, in November 2009, eBay sold 70% of Skype to an investor consortium led by the investment fund Silver Lake, the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The valuation of the platform in that transaction stood at $3.03 billion.

Finally, in 2011, Microsoft purchased Skype for $9.35 billion. Thus, Skype became the powerful online communication platform for the tech company, allowing phone calls and, subsequently, internet video calls.

In 2015, Microsoft introduced Skype for Business, a product focused on enabling communications at the business and professional level. This replaced Lync, the former business communication tool from the tech company. However, Microsoft’s attention on this service was short-lived as in 2016 it introduced Microsoft Teams.

Since then, the company’s efforts have focused on the development of Teams, leaving Skype more and more forgotten. We thus arrive at this tragic end, which will become effective on the upcoming May 5, 2025 with the disappearance of Skype.

The news has generated various reactions on social media and has stirred nostalgia in more than one person. Even competitors like Discord have wanted to honor this platform that accompanied us so much throughout our lives.

thank you for walking so we could run 😭rip to the og gaming chat app https://t.co/YQusowFtep

— Discord (@discord) February 28, 2025

Skype is shutting down for good pic.twitter.com/Ri88C71Jgx

— memes (@memescentrai) March 1, 2025

Photo: Microsoft