Skype, the once popular platform of calling and messages owned by Microsoftis closing for good On May 5 While Microsoft asks existing users to transfer to teams.

“In order to direct our free consumer communication offers so that we can fit more easily with the customer's needs, we will retire Skype in May 2025 to focus on Microsoft teams, our modern communication and cooperation center,” Microsoft announced on Friday, for Pcmag.

To make the transition easier, Microsoft will allow Skype users to be inserted into teams using their Skype credit letters over the coming days. All their contacts and conversations on Skype will be transferred. Anyone who does not want to use teams can choose to export their data to Skype.

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Jeff, president of Microsoft 365 collaborative applications and platforms, told cnbc This Microsoft was killing Skype to simplify his offers and focus more on teams.

“We learned a lot from Skype through the years we got into teams,” he told Outlet.

Skype was first launched in 2003 as a free tool to call people online. Soon gained withdrawal: When eBay won Skype for $ 2.6 billion At the end of 2005, the video conversation platform had collected 40 million global users. By 2008, Skype had managed to grow its user base more than tenfold with 405 million users.

Microsoft won Skype for $ 8.5 billion In October 2011, and over the next decade, competition from Apple's Facetime and WhatsApp Meta affected Skype numbers. Users too criticized Many Skype redesics, one of which turned the app to see More as Snapchat.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Debut teams In 2017 as a direct competitor on the messaging platform at the Slack workplace. The teams offered conferences for conversations, audio and videos and file sharing skills. During the pandemia, Skype lost the soil in magnification, which saw a Increasing 1,900% In daily users during the first half of 2020, and teams, which saw 894% increase from March to June 2020.

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Skype lag behind, only increasing by 70% from February to March 2020. It has lost daily active users, going from 40m Users in March 2020 to 36 million in 2023.

In comparison, teams have grown 320 million users By April 2024.

Tepper said the retirement pension was “a big, big moment” for Microsoft.

“We are certainly very grateful in many ways,” he told CNBC. “Skype pioneer audio and video calling online for many people, many people.”