Microsoft announces the closure of Skype. What is the alternative to Skype?

Skype, a video calling service that had hundreds of millions of users, will shut down in May, its owner Microsoft said. It was once one of the world’s most popular websites, allowing people to make free voice calls to friends and family around the world from their computers. Skype wasn’t the first or only company to offer the service, but by allowing the public to make free computer-to-computer calls, it became even more popular.

In a statement to X, a Skype spokesperson said that users can sign in to Microsoft Teams with their account to stay connected to all their chats and contacts. Skype, which was first launched in 2003, was acquired by tech giant Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion (£6.1 billion), its biggest acquisition to date.

As Microsoft has once noted, Skype has been integrated with other company products, such as Xbox and Windows devices. In December 2010, technology commentator Om Malik called it “one of the essential applications of the modern internet” after the site suffered a two-day global outage.

Following news of its impending shutdown, past and present Skype users have spoken out about their memories of using the video calling service and the impact it has had on their lives. “My best friend and I have very fond memories of Skype,” said one X user. one.

“It’s sad news, and I feel like I’m losing another piece of my youth,” he added.

How will all this affect users and which services to choose for calls and video communication

One of the oldest Internet communication applications will stop working on May 5 after its parent company, Microsoft, announced that it would replace Skype with a free version of Microsoft Teams.

Skype, founded by a group of Scandinavian entrepreneurs, was first launched in 2003. In the more than two decades since its appearance on the Internet, it has continued to change the way the world communicates and is rightly considered one of the first Internet calling services that revolutionized the field of landline telephony.

Go to Teams

Teams has many of the main features of Skype, such as group and individual calls, messaging and file sharing, and will replace Skype in two months.

In the coming days, Skype users will be able to use their existing credentials to sign in to Teams on any supported device to access the free version, Microsoft said.

Skype users’ account data, including existing chats and contacts, will also be automatically transferred to the new Teams app.

To help Microsoft users “stay connected” during the transition, Skype users will be able to call and chat with Teams users and vice versa, the company said.

Skype will be completely shut down on May 5, but users who have already purchased paid credits for the next renewal round will still be able to use them in Teams.

“Skype has been integral to shaping modern communications and supporting countless meaningful moments, and we’re proud to be a part of that journey,” Microsoft said in a statement.

Since launching online in 2016, Teams has become one of the most popular collaboration platforms, with more than 320 million users worldwide.

Microsoft confirmed in a statement that Skype’s No employees will be laid off as part of the transition.