Skype, the video-calling service that had hundreds of millions of users, is closing in May, its owner Microsoft has said. It was once one of the world’s most popular websites and allowed people to make voice calls via their computers to friends and family all over the globe for free. Skype was not the first or only company offering this service but by allowing the public to make computer-to-computer calls free, it helped popularise the concept. In an announcement on X, Skype said users can sign in to Microsoft Teams with their account to stay connected with all their chats and contacts. Microsoft made no immediate comment when contacted by BBC News. First released in 2003, Skype was bought by the tech giant in 2011 for $8.5bn (£6.1bn) – its biggest-ever acquisition at the time. As Microsoft once outlined, Skype became integrated with the company’s other products such as Xbox and Windows devices. In December 2010, tech industry commentator Om Malik called it one of the “key applications of the modern web”, when the website suffered a two-day global outage. Following news of its imminent closure, Skype users past and present described their memories of using the service for video calls and the impact it had on their lives. Microsoft will close Skype in May, but users can sign in to Microsoft Teams with their account to stay connected.
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