Microsoft said Friday it will discontinue Skype in May 2025, ending the live communication software that helped popularize Voice over IP (VoIP). The decision is part of the company's strategic shift toward Microsoft Teams, a collaboration platform designed to streamline free communication services and meet users' evolving needs.

"With Teams, users have access to many of the same core features they use in Skype, such as one-on-one calls and group calls, messaging, and file sharing," said Jeff Teper, Microsoft's President of Collaborative Apps and Platforms. "Additionally, Teams offers enhanced features like hosting meetings, managing calendars, and building and joining communities for free."

Launched in 2017 as the successor to Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams gained widespread adoption during the COVID-19 crisis, particularly during lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Microsoft said "In the past two years, the number of minutes spent in meetings by consumer users of Teams has grown four times, reflecting the value Teams bring to everyday communication and collaboration."

To minimize disruption for Skype users, Microsoft has implemented transition measures, including options to export data. Skype was created in 2003 by Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and Danish entrepreneur Janus Friis, and was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion.

Muriel Edjo