What is Skype?
{{update|date=March 2018}} [[Image:Skype logo (2019–present).svg|right|250px|Skype Logo since 2019]] '''Skype''' ( [[Help:IPA/English|/skaɪp/]]) is a [[software]] program that uses the [[Internet]] to make [[telephone]] calls (using a technology called [[Voice over Internet Protocol]] (VoIP). It was created in 2003 by the [[Sweden|Swedish]] and [[Denmark|Danish]] [[Niklas Zennström]] and [[Janus Friis]]. A company currently owns it in [[Luxembourg]] called '''Skype Technologies S.A.R.L''', which since 2011 has been part of [[Microsoft]]. (From 2005 to 2011, Skype was owned by [[eBay]].)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Microsoft to buy Skype in $8.5bn deal|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2011/5/11/microsoft-to-buy-skype-in-8-5bn-deal-2|access-date=2024-01-16|website=Al Jazeera|language=en}}</ref> The Skype program works on computers [[Microsoft Windows|with Microsoft Windows]], [[macOS]] and [[Linux]]. It is available as [[Mobile app|a mobile app]] for different platforms, including [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]]. Using VoIP to make calls is very cheap to call another phone. It does not cost [[money]] to call another Skype user. Every Skype user has a unique [[name]] to which other users can find and talk. Skype also has additional features such as video calls and multiple members in a [[conversation]]. In the chat, you can also find a selection of various [[Emoji|emojis available]]. Microsoft announced that they were shutting Skype down on May 5, 2025 in favour of the free version of [[Microsoft Teams]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/news/621353/microsoft-skype-shutting-down-retirement-may-2025|access-date=February 28, 2025|title=Microsoft is shutting down Skype in favor of Teams|publisher=[[The Verge]]}}</ref> == History of Skype == * [[September 2002]]: investment from [http://www.draperco.com/ Draper Investment Company] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209093151/http://www.draperco.com/ |date=2012-02-09 }}. * [[April 2003]]: Skype.com and Skype.net domain names