The Skype communications service will shut down on May 5, according to a notice sent to its users. It also lists all the conditions under which it will do so.
Microsoft, which owns Skype, is focusing on developing Teams, another communication and collaboration service, from May 5. Switching to Teams from Skype is free for users and does not require changing credentials.
“All your contacts and chats will be transferred automatically. You will also receive a notification in the Skype application in the coming days with a suggestion to take the necessary actions“, the bulletin specifies.
Skype data will be available to users until January 2026, “to give them time to decide what to do with it“, and they can also delete it themselves. The data will be deleted on its own if no action is taken before January 2026.
You can also export data from Skype without switching to Teams. This includes exporting contacts and chat history.
People who have active Skype subscriptions and credit after May 2025 will be able to use them via the Skype dialer, the Skype web portal, and the free version of Teams. Skype “Minutes“ will be removed from Microsoft 365 Personal and “Microsoft 365 Family“ subscriptions starting March 2026.