Skype shutdown: Microsoft to shut down platform on May 5 and replace it with Teams

Existing Skype users will be able to log in to Microsoft Teams with their current credentials, ensuring their message history, group chats, and contacts are automatically available without requiring a new account. Users also have the option to export their data instead.

“Skype users will be in control, they’ll have the choice,” said Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 365 collaborative apps and platforms, in an interview with The Verge. “They can migrate their conversation history and their contacts out and move on if they want, or they can migrate to Teams.”

Microsoft has created a tool for users who prefer to view their existing Skype chat history without migrating to Teams. The platform will remain online until May 5, giving users 60 days to decide whether to transition to Teams or export their data.

“If they do want to come to Teams then the first-run is pretty instantaneous because we’ve already done the work on the backend to restore their contacts, message history, and call logs,” said Amit Fulay, vice president of product at Microsoft. The transition will maintain Skype group chats, and during the 60-day window, Microsoft will ensure interoperability so users can still message contacts on Skype from Teams.

One major feature being discontinued with Skype’s shutdown is telephony services. Microsoft is phasing out support for domestic and international calling, a decision driven by changes in technology and user behaviour.

“Part of the reason is we look at the usage and the trends, and this functionality was great at the time when voice over IP (VoIP) wasn’t available and mobile data plans were very expensive,” explained Fulay. “If we look at the future, that’s not a thing we want to be in.”

Microsoft will honour existing Skype credits, but no new customers will have access to paid Skype features, including international and domestic calling. Existing subscription users can continue using their Skype credits inside Microsoft Teams until the end of their next renewal period. Skype Number users will need to port their numbers to another provider, as Microsoft will no longer support the service.

Microsoft acquired Skype on May 10, 2011, for $8.5 billion. The deal was finalised later that year, and Skype was integrated into Microsoft's ecosystem, eventually replacing Windows Live Messenger in 2013.