Microsoft to Shut Down Skype Today in Favour of Microsoft Teams: How to Transition and What’s Next

Microsoft says Skype users will be able to login to the free version of Teams using their existing Skype credentials on any supported device.

Written by Shaurya Tomer, Edited by Manas Mitul | Updated: 5 May 2025 15:03 IST

Microsoft to Shut Down Skype Today in Favour of Microsoft Teams: How to Transition and What’s Next

Photo Credit: Microsoft

Skype was launched in 2003, offering video telephony, video-conferencing and voice calling services

Highlights

Microsoft says Skype users will be migrated to the Teams app
Users must migrate chats and other data by January 2026 to avoid deletion
Skype paid features and credits will be phased out after renewal

Microsoft will be retiring its legacy video-conferencing platform Skype today (May 5). The application, which was intially released over two decades ago in 2003 and later acquired by Microsoft in 2011, offered Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-based video telephony, video-conferencing and voice calling capabilities. The announcement was made in February, with the Redmond-based tech giant prioritising Teams app as the main free consumer communications offering. Microsoft is migrating existing Skype users to its Teams app, allowing them to log in to the free version using their existing Skype credentials on any supported device.

What's Next

According to Microsoft, Skype Credit, subscriptions, and other paid features will no longer be offered to users. Current paid subscribers can continue to use their Skype Credits and subscriptions until the end of their next renewal period, while Skype Credits can be used till exhaustion. Beginning today, Skype Dial Pad will only be available to remaining paid users from the Skype web portal and within Teams.

Microsoft emphasises that the shut down of Skype only impacts free and paid users, and not those holding Skype for Business accounts.

Spotify's US App Update with Purchase Links Gets Apple Approval

How to Transition from Skype to Microsoft Teams:

Download Teams on your device from the official Microsoft Teams website. 
Log in with Skype credentials. 
Start using Teams with all the Skype chats and contacts automatically available from the offset.

With Skype phasing out, existing users will be able to log in to the free version of Microsoft Teams using their existing credentials on any supported device. It is making the migration process easier by automatically transferring the Skype data, including chats and contacts to the new platform. They will also receive a notification in the Skype app prompting them to take action for data migration. Users have until January 2026 to do so, after which their data will be deleted.

However, chats between Skype users and Teams work or school accounts will not be migrated, the company says. Further, paid Skype features, including Skype Credit and subscriptions, will no longer be offered to customers.

Apple Said to Be Working With Anthropic on AI-Powered Version of Xcode

Why is Skype Shutting Down

Skype was launched in 2003 and soon became one of the most popular VoIP-based video telephony and video-conferencing platforms in the world. Its extreme success eventually led to Microsoft acquiring the company in 2011 for $8.5 billion (roughly Rs. 0.71 lakh crore). However with time, other social media platforms like WhatsApp and Zoom emerged, offering substantially more functionality and flexibility. Zoom experienced a surge driven by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 as Skype fell behind.

Although Microsoft in 2023 revealed that the platform still had 36 million users, its market share decreased over time, with the company's own Teams app growing nearly fourfold in the past two years and offering similar core features in addition to many more.

Gemini App Could Become More Personalised, Bring New Subscription Tier

Thus, the company announced in February that Skype would be retiring on May 5 (today).

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Microsoft Teams, Skype, skype shut down

Shaurya Tomer

Email Shaurya Tomer

Shaurya Tomer is a Sub Editor at Gadgets 360 with 2 years of experience across a diverse spectrum of topics. With a particular focus on smartphones, gadgets and the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence... more »