Skype officially closes for good

Well, today is the day. After all these years, Skype finally stops. This familiar blue icon and this sparkling ringing become dark, leaving some people looking for a new destination for their video calls and their cats.

Skype officially said goodbye today, May 5, 2025. Microsoft finally eliminated the catch, firing at the plan that they announced in February. This is the end of an era for a service which, for many (including me), was their first foray into vocal and video calls on the Internet. Before smartphones make video calls easier – and even for a while after their fact – Skype was the way you talk to your family around the world or have had a face -to -face conversation with a friend without accumulating a massive phone bill.

For years, Skype was the name in online communication. You haven't just gave a video call, you have “skypical” someone. It was one of those rare brands that became a verb type “Google”. But like many pioneers on the Internet, it was finally overwhelmed by more recent, faster and better alternatives. While Skype tried to follow, add features and change his interface, he was often as old as it was. The rise in messaging applications and the embrace of the corporate world of platforms like Slack and finally the own teams of Microsoft have spent Doom for Skype.

The acquisition of Skype by Microsoft in 2011 for $ 8.5 billion was significant at the time. You would think that this type of investment would solidify its future, but instead, it seemed to mark the start of a slow drop. Microsoft's attention has gradually moved when she moved the teams, initially designed for businesses, more in consumer space. It offers several of the same features as Skype, more much more.

The big question is, what does this mean for you if you hang on to your Skype account? Microsoft is, not surprisingly, pushing people to teams. You can connect to the teams with your existing Skype identification information, and all your cat contacts and stories will be automatically moved. There is no replacement for the functionality of the Skype phone number, but Microsoft honors the Skype credits that you may have leftovers.

If the teams are not your cup of tea, you will have to look for alternatives. There are now many options, such as Zoom, which has taken over like the default verb for video calls, and Google meet for video calls, or messaging applications like Whatsapp and Telegram which also perfectly manage vocal and video cats. The bad news is that today is your last day to change and export all the data you want to keep. After that, your access will be cut, and finally, your data will be deleted.

It's a bit sad to see a service that was so revolutionary in its time finally close its doors. Skype walked on so many communication tools today. Although its last years could have been less glamorous, its impact is undeniable. Although he has not used Skype for many years, I will have good memories. So long.

Source: Techcrunch