(NEXSTAR) – After a 21-year run, the as soon as widely-used video chat app Skype is now formally a reminiscence, as of Might 5.

“Rest in peace, Skype,” one individual wrote on X. “You served us well.”

“Listen to that iconic Skype ringer one last time,” one other urged, including a clip of the bubbly, slick tone.

Based in 2003 and headquartered in Luxembourg, Microsoft-owned Skype has been credited with making video calls simple and inexpensive for thousands and thousands of individuals.

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“Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and supporting countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of the journey,” Jeff Teper, president of collaborative apps and platforms at Microsoft, in a press release.

Teper stated the choice to close down Skype comes as Microsoft appears to “streamline our free consumer communications offerings so we can more easily adapt to customer needs.”

What occurs now for Skype customers?

Skype customers will not be capable to log into their accounts, however they’ll use the identical credentials signal into Microsoft Groups Free on any supported system.

One’s contacts and chats can be robotically transferred and the person may even see a notification within the Skype app “prompting you to take action to migrate your data,” in response to Microsoft.

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Microsoft notes that the next knowledge would not migrate to Groups Free:

Chats between Skype customers and Groups work or college accounts is not going to be migrated. Customers can use Groups Free to begin a brand new dialog with Groups work or college customers and revel in much more performance.

Skype to Skype for Enterprise chat historical past is not going to be migrated. 

1:1 chat with self historical past is not going to be migrated.

Personal conversations knowledge is not going to be migrated. 

Copilot and bots content material is not going to be supported in Groups Free and no chat historical past can be out there.

For loyal Skype customers who aren’t concerned with hopping over to Groups, there’s additionally the choice to export one’s Skype knowledge.

Anybody who takes no motion and fails to log in to Groups by January 2026 will lose their knowledge.

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion.