End of an era: Skype to cease operation in May 2025

Microsoft has officially announced the closure of the Skype service. It will take place on May 5; the service will be available until that day so that users have time to switch to another platform. The company encourages users to transition to Teams for free.

According to the statement, the move will preserve all personal data, including message history, personal files (including photos), group chats, and contacts. There will also be no need to create a new account, Microsoft promises.

"In order to streamline our free consumer communications offerings so we can more easily adapt to customer needs, we will be retiring Skype in May 2025 to focus on Microsoft Teams (free), our modern communications and collaboration hub," the company said.

Skype, a proprietary telecommunications application, was created in the early noughties by entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis. Since October 2005, Skype was owned by eBay, but in 2011, Microsoft became the owner of the platform.

To switch from Skype to Teams, all you need to do is install the software. When Teams is activated, the program will pick up the user's account stored in the cloud, including their username and password.

According to the company, users have two months to decide whether they want to transfer their data to Teams or switch to other services. In the second option, Microsoft will provide the ability to easily view all their data.

During the transition period, Teams users can call and chat with Skype users, and Skype users can do the same with Teams users.

However, one Skype feature will disappear completely after the service is shut down - the ability to call domestic and international numbers. Microsoft explained that this feature was relevant when Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was unavailable.

The money invested by users in Skype will be available for further use, including in Microsoft Teams. However, subscriptions and paid features will no longer be available to new users. Those who have numbers will have to transfer them to other providers.

At the same time, Teams users will not have access to the calling feature available to business users.

As reported, Microsoft has significantly increased the cost of subscription to the Office cloud suite products - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. Family subscription to Microsoft 365 has risen in price by 30%, and the version for individuals - by 43%. This is the first increase in the cost of the company's products in 12 years.

At the same time, Microsoft has extended the provision of free services in Ukraine for another year - until the end of 2025. Ukrainian government agencies and authorities will be able to use them. This initiative was launched in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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