Microsoft announced on Friday that it is shutting down Skype, the pioneer of online voice and video calling that the tech giant bought in 2011.
"Skype will no longer be available from May 2025," Skype support said in a statement on social network X.
Users are recommended to sign in to Microsoft's other platform, Teams, and continue using its services.
Skype was founded in Estonia in 2003 by Scandinavians Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who revolutionized internet communications by creating free voice calls between computers and inexpensive calls to landlines and mobile phones.
Over the years and as internet speeds increased, Skype expanded to include video calling, instant messaging, file sharing, and group communication features.
The program quickly gained popularity around the world, and by 2005, Skype had 50 million registered users,
In recent years, especially with the rise of smartphones, Skype has struggled to keep up with new competitors such as Meta-owned platforms WhatsApp and Zoom, as well as Microsoft-created Teams.
"We think now is the right time because we can be simpler for the market, for our customer base, and we can deliver more innovation faster by focusing on Teams," Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 365 collaboration apps and platforms, told CNBC.
