However, the explosion of smartphones and the new wave of messaging apps have caused skype to gradually lose their position. By comparison, WhatsApp had surpassed 2 billion users in 2020.
When it submitted IPO documents in 2010, skype announced that there were 560 million registered accounts, of which 124 million were monthly active users. However, instead of going public after separating from eBay (the company bought Google in 2005), Microsoft spent $8.5 billion to acquire the platform in 2011. Under the leadership of Microsoft, skype peaked with 300 million users in 2013.
Microsoft does not regularly release skype user data and only occasionally disclose some notable data.
One of the rare times skype grew strongly was during the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, Microsoft said skype had increased by 70% in just one month, reaching 40 million daily users as people sought to connect during the social distance period. This trend also appears on rival platforms such as Zoom.
However, this growth did not last long. By early 2023, Microsoft revealed in a blog post that more than 36 million people worldwide use skype every day for calling and texting - a figure that shows a decline from the previous peak.
The rise of Microsoft Teams and the decline of skype in recent years have made Microsoft decide to focus all its efforts on Teams.
Skype has had a breakthrough during the pandemic, but in recent years the platform has declined significantly. We feel that this is the right time to take this step, said Jeff Teper, a Microsoft leader.
Microsoft has just confirmed that it will officially stop supporting skype from May 5 and encourage users to switch to the Teams platform. In its announcement, the company said the decision was aimed at "streamlining free communication services to be able to adapt more flexibly to customer needs".
