rewrite this title Microsoft to shut down Skype in May amid shrinking user base

RIP Microsoft is reportedly planning to shut down its once-dominant video calling application, Skype. The app was highly popular among internet users in the early 2000s, but has faced persistent neglect from Microsoft in recent years as Teams became the company’s primary focus in the VoIP sector.

According to a hidden string found in the latest preview of Skype for Windows, Microsoft will sunset the software later this year. To let users know about the impending shutdown, the app is adding a dialog box telling users that Skype will no longer be available from May 2025. Instead, users will be encouraged to download and install the free version of Teams to stay in touch with their friends and family.

If the report turns out to be accurate, it will surprise no one as Microsoft has long neglected Skype while actively promoting Teams. Thanks partly to the rise of a plethora of OTT video calling apps and partly due to Microsoft’s utter disinterest in keeping Skype alive, the app has seen a sharp decline in the number of users in recent years.

While Skype still has a dedicated user base, it is far outnumbered by the millions of people who have moved on to other VoIP platforms, such as FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom, Google Meet, etc. Many companies adopted Teams as their communication app of choice while Microsoft continued giving Skype the cold shoulder.

Skype was first released in August 2003 by a group of Estonian developers, including Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn. A couple of years later, eBay acquired it for $2.6 billion before Microsoft bought it for a reported $8.5 billion in 2011. However, the company quickly grew uninterested in its product and launched an in-house competitor called Teams in 2017, which has since become a prominent communication platform for businesses.

Skype’s impending demise is undoubtedly going to be a tough pill to swallow for its remaining users who refused to give up on the aging app. While there’s no data about the exact number of Skype users in 2025, it reportedly had 36 million daily active users in 2023. Microsoft will be hoping that most of them will migrate to Teams, but whether that happens remains to be seen.