Internet & Communication · Reviewed
Skype
An internet calling and messaging service that popularized inexpensive computer-based voice communication, later expanded into video and mobile use before its consumer retirement.
Overview
Skype connected users through voice calls, messages and later video across internet-connected devices. Its consumer appeal included communication between distant friends and families, along with paid options for calling telephone numbers in supported markets. Contact lists and presence linked calling with everyday messaging.
The application relied on an operated service as well as installed software. Early peer-to-peer architecture and later Microsoft infrastructure were different technical periods. Consumer Skype is also distinct from Skype for Business, whose history and support arrangements should not be inferred from the consumer product's retirement.
Key features
- Internet voice calls
- Messaging and contact presence
- Video calling
- Telephone calling in supported services
- Desktop and mobile clients
Historical significance
Skype changed expectations about the cost and convenience of long-distance communication. It made voice and video on a personal computer familiar to a broad nontechnical audience. Its history also demonstrates the difference between preserving an application installer and preserving an online service on which the application depends.
History and development
Skype launched in 2003, associated with founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis and a development team with earlier peer-to-peer experience. eBay acquired it in 2005, and Microsoft bought the business in 2011 after a subsequent ownership change.
The service expanded through video, mobile clients and integration with Microsoft's communications strategy. Microsoft retired consumer Skype in May 2025 and directed users toward Teams Free. That endpoint closes the original consumer service history without making Skype for Business the same discontinued product.