Skype could soon be history – according to a line of code in the app
A user has discovered indications in the Skype preview code that a shutdown could be imminent in May of this year.
(Image: Denys Prykhodov/Shutterstock.com)
Microsoft could shut down Skype for end users in May 2025, some observers believe, based on a character string in the binary file of a preview version of Skype. A user of the XDA forum found the hint in the code of the latest preview version of the Skype app for Windows. The original text reads: "Starting in May, Skype will no longer be available. Continue your calls and chats in Teams." In German: "Starting in May, Skype will no longer be available. Continue your calls and chats in Teams." The text is entered as a ribbon message, which indicates a planned display for users.
Microsoft has been working for some time to establish Teams among users and market it as a replacement for Skype. For example, it has been possible to communicate with Skype users in Teams since 2020. While Teams is being further developed and maintained by Microsoft, Skype seemed to have been sidelined for a while.
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However, Microsoft will continue to provide extended support for Skype Business servers until October 14, 2025, and Extended Security Updates (ESU) will continue to be available until then. Microsoft refers to this on its own website. This applies to both the Skype for Business Server 2015 and the 2019 version. At least in the business environment, Microsoft cannot turn off Skype until this date. Presumably, this only affects the end user version.
Skype was originally a VoIP telephony software based on a P2P protocol that was introduced in 2003 by the developers of the Kazaa file-sharing client Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis and rapidly had millions of users. Over the years, new functions such as messaging, telephone numbers and finally video were added. Skype was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 for 8.5 billion US dollars at the time.
(tlz)
