Microsoft quietly ended the sale of new Skype credits and phone number features this week. Skype Credit and Skype Number are both being discontinued as Microsoft looks to promote subscriptions.
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Skype Credit was a pay-as-you-go program for making calls both locally and internationally, and Skype Number allowed you to have a phone number that people could call and go to your Skype account. Both have been around on Skype for years, making it a popular option for calling landlines and mobiles over the internet.
“ New Skype Number and Skype Credit sales have stopped, but customers can still use existing Skype numbers and credits ,” Amit Fulay , vice president of Microsoft Teams and Skype, says in a statement to The Verge. “ Users can also purchase new outgoing PSTN calling services through monthly Skype subscriptions or use Skype’s free VoIP services for voice or video calls. ”
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While existing Skype phone numbers will continue to work for now, it seems inevitable that Microsoft will eventually force existing users into a subscription. Existing Skype Credit can still be used, but you can't buy additional renewals. Even with Microsoft's Skype subscriptions, there's still no direct replacement for the phone number that people can call to find your Skype.
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Microsoft made the surprise decision to remove ads from Skype earlier this year, along with new features like AI image generation. The communications app, acquired by Microsoft in 2011, has struggled to stay relevant in recent years in the face of WhatsApp, Zoom, FaceTime , and other video calling apps. Microsoft has also been turning more of its attention to Teams in recent years, especially after launching a personal version of Teams in 2020.
Source: theverge
