Microsoft to close Skype after 22 years of operation
28 February 14:41
The American corporation Microsoft will stop supporting Skype in May this year. This is reported by the specialized portal XDA Developers, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
Users are advised to switch to Microsoft Teams, which has long been the company’s priority platform.
As noted, the resource’s specialists found a hidden message in the code of the latest version of Skype for Windows.
“Starting in May, Skype will no longer be available. Continue your calls and chats in Teams,” the message reads.
It goes on to say that “some of your friends have already switched to the free version of Teams,” probably based on your contacts. This message appeared in the new version of Skype for Windows, which was spotted by an attentive reader and confirmed by the XDA portal.
The end of Skype support has been rumored for a long time, but every time it seemed like it was over, Microsoft released another major update. This time, however, it seems to be serious – in May, the company will finally shut down Skype.
It is noteworthy that in August of this year, Microsoft released a major update for its audio and video calling service. One of the most notable changes was the complete removal of ads, and Skype introduced new features based on artificial intelligence.
XDA experts note that Skype never became the hit that Microsoft wanted it to be, given the success of Apple’s FaceTime competitor and the launch of various proprietary communication services. And the closure of Skype, which is losing popularity, was a completely expected decision after the company stopped supporting Skype for Business in 2017.
In 2025, Telegram will be the main messenger for Ukrainians, although there is an active discussion in the information space about the need to ban the messenger in Ukraine.
The Skype app was first launched in 2003, and in 2011 it was acquired by Microsoft for $8.5 billion and has since been integrated into everywhere possible.
In 2017, Microsoft launched Teams, a collaboration platform based on Skype.
Windows 10 version 1511 was still shipped with Skype integration, but in 2021, Windows 11 was released with a free personal version of the Teams messaging program.
