This article is about the software. For the subsidiary company that develops it, see Skype Technologies. For the enterprise application formerly known as Microsoft Lync, see Skype for Business.
Skype
Logo of Skype (2019–present)
Screenshot of Skype version 8 for Windows desktop
Original author(s)
Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn
Developer(s)
Skype Technologies (Microsoft)
Initial release
29 August 2003; 20 years ago (2003-08-29)
Stable release(s) [±]
Windows, UWP
15.106.212.0 / 19 October 2023; 6 months ago (2023-10-19)[1]
Windows, desktop
8.106.0.212 / 19 October 2023; 6 months ago (2023-10-19)[1]
macOS
8.106.0.212 / 19 October 2023; 6 months ago (2023-10-19)[1]
Linux
8.106.0.212 / 19 October 2023; 6 months ago (2023-10-19)[1]
Android
8.106.0.213 / 18 October 2023; 6 months ago (2023-10-18)[2]
iOS
8.106.1 / 25 October 2023; 6 months ago (2023-10-25)[3] (iPhone and iPad)
Operating system
Windows, Windows Phone, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, iPadOS, WatchOS, Wear OS, HoloLens, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Available in
108 languages[4]
Type
Videoconferencing, VoIP and Instant messaging
License
Proprietary software
Website
skype.com
Part of a series on
Skype
Skype Technologies
Features of Skype
Skype protocol
Skype security
Skype for Business
Skype for Business Server
Skype Translator
mobile applications
GroupMe
Skype Qik
v
t
e
Skype (/skaɪp/) is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, debit-based calls to landline and mobile telephones (over traditional telephone networks), and other features. It is available on various desktop, mobile, and video game console platforms.
Skype was created by Niklas Zennström, Janus Friis, and four Estonian developers, and first released in August 2003. In September 2005, eBay acquired it for $2.6 billion.[5] In September 2009,[6] Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought 65% of Skype for $1.9 billion from eBay, valuing the business at $2.92 billion. In May 2011, Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion and used it to replace their Windows Live Messenger. As of 2011, most of the development team and 44% of all the division's employees were in Tallinn and Tartu, Estonia.[7][8][9]
Skype originally featured a hybrid peer-to-peer and client–server system.[10] It became entirely powered by Microsoft-operated supernodes in May 2012;[11] in 2017, it changed from a peer-to-peer service to a centralized Azure-based service. As of February 2023, it was used by 36 million people each day.[12]
^ abcd"Release Notes for Skype for Windows, Mac and Linux". Skype Support.
^"Release Notes for Skype on Mobile". Skype Support.
^"Skype for iPhone". App Store. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
^"Skype". Microsoft Store.
^"EBay to buy Skype in $2.6bn deal". BBC News. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
^"Canada Pension plan buys Skype stake | Toronto Star". Thestar. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
^"Skype eelistab odavat Eesti tööjõudu". Äripäev. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
^"Tony Bates Weighs in on Microsoft's Acquisition of Skype – – Skype Blogs". Skype Blogs. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011.
^"Microsoft confirms takeover of Skype". bbc.com. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
^Ferdinand, Von Götzen (1 December 2014). "An interview with Jaan Tallinn, co-founder and author of Skype". Affairs Today. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014.
^"Skype replaces P2P supernodes with Linux boxes hosted by Microsoft (updated)". May 2012.
^"The new Bing preview experience arrives on Bing and Edge Mobile apps; introducing Bing now in Skype". Official Microsoft Blog. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
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