Microsoft shuts down 14-year-old communication app! Recommends users to migrate to Teams!

Edited by Yi Feng

Produced by 51CTO Technology Stack (WeChat ID: blog51cto)

Yesterday, Microsoft officially shut down Skype.

This legendary application, once known as "redefining communications", came to an end after 23 years of operation. And it is only a few days away from 14 years since Microsoft acquired it for a high price of US$8.5 billion.

Until the last moment, Skype still has a group of loyal users. But both Microsoft and the rapidly changing world have long abandoned Skype.

Skype posted its final farewell post on X, recommending users to switch to its own Team application:

Once upon a time, Skype represented the future of communication: free, high-definition, cross-border video calls, and became the favorite of foreign trade practitioners, cross-border lovers, and overseas students.

But in recent years, its presence has rapidly declined. Microsoft Teams has become Microsoft's new favorite, and resources have been transferred across the board; Zoom and Google Meet have dominated the entrance to meetings; dozens of messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram also provide high-quality audio and video experiences in addition to text.

Skype's former technological advantages have now been completely "commoditized."

Perhaps Skype's end is not failure, but the moment when the times pushed it to "accomplish its mission."


A brief history of Skype: from changing the future of communications to its exit from the historical stage

"I knew it was over when I downloaded Skype."

Skype was founded in Luxembourg in 2003 as the first platform to enable free computer-to-computer calls, and soon added video calling capabilities.

Michael Powell, then chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and the top U.S. telecommunications regulator, uttered those opening words to a room of academics and corporate executives at the University of California, San Diego, and said he had seen the future of communications:

In 2005, eBay paid $2.6 billion for Skype, a staggering sum at the time—in the same year, Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, was valued at only $100 million.

However, just two years later, eBay recorded a $1.4 billion impairment loss on Skype and began selling its stake.

In 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5 billion, which was the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history at the time. At the time, Skype had more than 660 million registered users.

The main purpose of Microsoft's acquisition of Skype was to integrate its real-time communication technology into Microsoft's products and services, including Windows Phone, Xbox Live, Outlook, etc. Skype also became a new business unit of Microsoft, named "Microsoft Skype", led by Skype CEO Tony Bates, who reported directly to then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.


In recent years, Skype's user base has dropped significantly, from 300 million monthly active users in 2013 to 36 million daily active users in 2023.

Microsoft finally announced in February this year that it would shut down Skype and transfer core functions to Microsoft Teams. This acquisition marked the beginning of Microsoft's strategic transformation in the mobile Internet era. Although Skype failed to continue to dominate the market, it laid the foundation for Microsoft's layout in the field of instant messaging.

What can Skype users do?
For Skype users, if they want a smooth transition, Microsoft Teams, which also belongs to Microsoft, may be the smoothest choice. As early as February, when Microsoft officials announced that Skype would be shut down, they provided users with two transition plans:


1. Free migration to Microsoft Teams
Users can log in to the free version of Teams directly with their Skype account, without the need for additional registration. From that moment on, contacts and chat history will be automatically synchronized to the new platform, with almost no manual operation required, and the experience is quite smooth.

2. Export Skype data

If you do not plan to continue using Microsoft products, you can also choose to export chat records, contacts and call history on Skype, so that you can back them up or transfer them to other platforms.

Of course, for many users, the "alternative" options available now are no longer limited to Teams. A number of applications such as Zoom and Google Meet have long had complete video calls and instant messaging functions, which are enough to replace Skype's former role.

Skype users call it "the end of youth", when the communication platform becomes a memory carrier
In the farewell message area of ​​Skype, many users can't hide their disappointment. An old user left an angry message: "My family and I hate Microsoft for treating Skype like this."

When a communication platform is shut down, people miss not only the functions and services provided by the platform, but also the youthful memories it carries.

As one user commented, "Talking to friends on Skype late at night is the ultimate experience!" I believe he has spent countless unforgettable times on this platform.

As Chinese users, we also have our own marks of the times:


At that time, smartphones were not yet popular. Fetion carried free text messages between us and our parents, and it was almost a standard for communication in the workplace and on campus; Renren's internal messages and campus IM were channels for ambiguity and confession on university campuses; and QQ almost defined the online communication of a generation of Chinese people, from QQ Show to video calls, late-night

The future of communication may be AI dialogue, virtual avatars, or even holographic projections like in science fiction movies.

Platforms will change, technology will evolve, but people's desire to "remotely connect with each other" has never changed. This need to be heard and understood is the driving force behind the evolution of all communication technologies.

Reference link:
1.https://nypost.com/2025/05/05/business/video-chat-pioneer-skype-is-shutting-down-after-23-years


2.https://www.theverge.com/microsoft/660985/skype-shuts-down-rip