Member-only story
Skype Will Soon Disappear And Really Nobody Cares
The former market leader of internet calls and video conferences in the 2000s is said to go offline in May this year.
There are times when you suddenly feel older than you actually are.
Today, I feel exactly like that.
Microsoft just announced that Skype is retiring in May this year. In my teenager years, I used it a lot. It was the preferred tool of the time to stay connected before apps like Teams, WhatsApp, and Slack arrived.
Skype closed the gap that others like MSN Messenger, ICQ, or IRC didn’t solve: Video and voice calls over the internet. No matter if it was for gaming, for work, or to stay connected with friends and family, Skype was the go-to solution of the time.
Microsoft says you should move to Teams. Those that still use Skype probably will. But it’s still a business application and it’s slow on mobiles. Funny thing: in Feb 2023 there were still 36 million people using Skype! However, this is nothing when compared to WhatsApp, Telegram, or WeChat. They all have more than 1 billion active users.
Skype is just not relevant anymore. And I think the decline started after Microsoft bought it in 2011. I followed the news and over the years it felt…
