Microsoft was too busy adding emoji and trying to compete with the rise of WhatsApp, FaceTime, Snapchat, and Facebook Messenger that it had fallen short on the very basics of Skype. It had gotten to the point, in 2016, where people were using Skype begrudgingly, simply because it was ubiquitous and nothing had replaced it yet.

After more than two decades as a go-to platform for online communication, Skype is officially shutting down. Microsoft,

“Skype calls have excellent sound quality and are highly secure with end-to-end encryption,” Skype’s homepage read in 2004.

Want to backup, export or download Skype Data? Move all your Skype chats, contacts, etc. to Teams. Learn how to migrate from Skype to Teams.

To encourage this transition, Microsoft will soon allow users to sign in to the free version of Teams with their Skype username and password. By using the same credentials, users will be able to access their existing chats and contacts if they want to pick up where they left off.

Microsoft will soon switch off Skype, a pioneering telecom and video call platform that emerged from the rubble of the dotcom era.

Microsoft is pivoting to support Teams instead. Microsoft 365 head Jeff Teper encouraged Skype users to migrate their Skype contacts to Teams.

Microsoft is retiring Skype in May 2025, urging users to migrate to Microsoft Teams Free. Here are some alternatives video communication tools.