After 23 years, Skype is saying goodbye to its users. Microsoft has decided to retire the legendary calling and messaging app on May 5, 2025, to focus entirely on Teams. Users have about 10 weeks to decide what to do with their accounts. Although it once had about 300 million users, in 2023 Microsoft reported that Skype had only 36 million, a figure that hinted that the end was inevitable.
What will happen now?
Users have two options: transfer contacts and conversations to Teams, or download their data via the export option in Skype. Microsoft has long hinted that Skype was on the verge of extinction. In 2016, the company introduced Teams, which was seen as a Slack alternative, but with much greater ambitions: a comprehensive platform for communication and collaboration.
In 2021, Microsoft made Teams the primary communications app on Windows 11, leaving Skype out of the running. Meanwhile, in December 2024, it stopped the ability to add credit or buy new Skype numbers, further pushing it to the end. For Microsoft, the decision was a matter of timing. According to the company, call minutes for Teams users have quadrupled since 2023, although it did not provide a specific figure for how many users use Teams for personal communication.
So here we are: an era is coming to an end for Skype, the app that once revolutionized online calling and spawned one of the biggest European startups of its time. If you're still using it, you still have some time to decide what to do with your account.
