Microsoft is to pull the plug on its pioneer video-messaging service Skype after 22 years.

Existing Skype users will be able to log in to the Microsoft Teams app and have their message history, group chats, and contacts all automatically available without having to create another account, or they can choose to export their data instead. Microsoft is also phasing out support for calling domestic or international numbers.

For years synonymous with online video calls, the VoIP call service was first launched in 2003 but was acquired by eBay in 2005 and sold back to Microsoft for $8.5 billion in 2011.          

The arrival of FaceTime and Zoom broke Skype’s monopoly particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic where Zoom became the preferred platform for working from home and holding virtual meetings.

Microsoft positioning is looking to reposition Teams as its successor. Microsoft first announced it would shut down the service in February.