Skype, the well-known online chat and video calling platform, has formally closed.
Microsoft, the company that controls Skype, declared that users should switch to Microsoft Teams as the service would be discontinued. May 5, 2025, was the last day of the shutdown.
It lasted for nearly 22 years, once becoming a part of Filipino households.
Skype’s legacy
The well-known chat program was created by a team of developers and acquired by Microsoft in 2011.
To keep in touch with all of their friends and chats, Microsoft allowed users to log in to Microsoft Teams Free using their Skype identities.
Users will have access to the same essential Skype services with Teams, including group calls, file sharing, chat, and one-on-one calls.
How Skype impacted Filipino lives
Skype significantly changed the way Filipinos communicate, especially during the 2000s and early 2010s. For millions of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families back home, Skype offered a lifeline—free or low-cost video and voice calls that made long-distance relationships more bearable.
In rural areas, Skype also introduced many Filipinos to digital communication for the first time, often through shared community internet cafés.
