Pour one out for the blue “S.” After more than two decades, Skype — the once-ubiquitous video-calling app that defined early internet communication — is officially being retired.
As of May 5, Microsoft is shutting down Skype, signaling the end of an era for the service that, in the mid-2000s, was practically synonymous with video calls. Launched in 2003 and scooped up by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion, Skype was once a juggernaut, peaking at more than 300 million active users in the early 2010s.
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But in the years since, Skype’s relevance slowly eroded. Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram chipped away at its user base. Then came Zoom’s pandemic-fueled rise, and Microsoft’s own collaboration tool, Teams, which gradually cannibalized Skype’s core functionality.
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Microsoft confirmed the shutdown in February, announcing Teams as the new default for users seeking video calls and messaging. The Skype homepage now reads like a digital gravestone, redirecting visitors to “start using Teams.” Paid users can transition to Teams for free, and the company says you’ve got until January 2026 to export your data.
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Skype isn’t the first iconic tech product to fade into obsolescence — and it won’t be the last. But for a generation that grew up saying “Skype me,” it’s a bittersweet goodbye.
