Microsoft to Retire Skype

As the the modern communication system evolves, Microsoft is looking back once again to re-evaluate the future of Skype and this time around the company decided to put it to the rest, forever. Skype used to be one of the most popular and later widely available communication application offered by Microsoft for number of decades now.

Growing up as a teen, I vividly remember using Skype to communicate with my relatives in overseas. Video calls over the internet used to bring joys and smiles on our faces which eventually became quite normal. Specially with the widespread popularity of modern phones and ever growing internet speed, talking to your loved ones in real time became much more common. But it wasn't like this even twenty years back.

Slowly but surely, Microsoft Teams managed to attract hundreds of millions of people with much more enhanced features like hosting meetings, managing calendars, building and joining number of communities for free. Instead of offering multiple applications, Microsoft is emphasizing on the Teams application to streamline their communication services.

On a recent blog post, Microsoft has confirmed that the company will be retiring once popular proprietary telecommunications application Skype and it's related services. The company will no longer offer paid Skype features to the new customers, including Skype credit that once allowed to make national and international phone calls.

However, the existing customers will continue to enjoy their services until their subscription expires or balance ends while keeping in mind that after May 5, 2025, the Skype dial pad will be available from the Skype web portal and within Teams.