Skype shuts down today as Microsoft transitions users to Teams

Marking the end of an era, May sees the retirement of Skype, Microsoft’s loved and loathed messaging app. The death of Skype has been a long time coming, with the aged platform struggling to keep pace with the competition, and now the last rites can be read. Today, May 5, is the day Microsoft pulls the plug.

The writing was on the wall for Skype as soon as Microsoft started development of Teams, and this is precisely where the company is hoping ex-Skype users will move to. But while paying and non-paying users of Skype will have to find a new home, Skype for Business lives on... for now.

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While the end of the messaging service would seem like a great time to start to look further afield and seek out a replacement from another provider, Microsoft is very much hoping the userbase will simply switch to Microsoft Teams Free. The company is making the transfer process as quick and painless as possible, but concedes that the switch may mean missing out on some familiar features:

Skype users will have the option to move to Microsoft Teams Free, which offers many of the same core features and more. Sign in to Microsoft Teams Free on any supported device using your Skype credentials and your contacts and chats will automatically be transferred. You will also receive a notification in the Skype app prompting you to take action to migrate your data.

Although the transfer of data should help to ease the transition to Teams, there are somethings which won’t be migrated across:

• Chats between Skype users and Teams work or school accounts will not be migrated. Users can use Teams Free to start a new conversation with Teams work or school users and enjoy even more functionality.
• Skype to Skype for Business chat history will not be migrated. 
• 1:1 chat with self history will not be migrated.
• Private conversations data will not be migrated. 
• Copilot and bots content will not be supported in Teams Free and no chat history will be available.

Today may be the day that Skype shuffles away, but this does not mean that chat and user data is immediately wiped out. Microsoft says:

Your Skype data will be available until January 2026 for you to export or delete. If you log in to Microsoft Teams Free by then, your Skype call and chat history will be available to you. If you take no action, your Skype data will be deleted January 2026. 

Microsoft says that anyone who does not want to use Microsoft Teams Free, can export their Skype data.