Today, May 5, is the official day that Skype will shut down.
In early March, Microsoft announced the retirement date for the prominent videoconferencing app. That date is today. After 21 years, Skype is going out and will be replaced by Microsoft Teams.
Existing Skyper users can migrate to Microsoft Teams using the same credentials. Their contacts and chat history will be automatically transferred to the new platforms.
But if you don’t want to use Teams and still want to save your data, you can follow the steps below:
- Go to the export page and sign in to your account.
- Choose if you want to download Files, Conversations, or both. That includes Skype and SMS messages, and photos.
- Click Submit, then click Continue.
- Check the export status by returning to the export page. It will appear in the Available Exports.
- Once the process is done, click the link to download the .tar file that contains all your data.
Skype users have until January 2026 to export their data before they are permanently gone.
The videoconferencing company, founded in 2003, is one of the pioneers in the industry. They were acquired by different firms until Microsoft’s acquisition in 2011.
As per Microsoft, shutting down Skype will help streamline their free consumer communications offerings so they can “easily adapt to customer needs.”
Microsoft Teams has overtaken Skype in terms of user base.