Microsoft revolutionizes Skype: no more numbers and credits, there are now subscriptions

Microsoft has silently changed the rules of Skype: no more numbers or credits, but to call, you must activate a subscription. One of the most used services for calling friends and relatives abroad (or from abroad) is constantly evolving, and not in a particularly elegant way. But what is happening? If you go to the service’s website or download and launch the application, you will find something (hidden) waiting for you: you will no longer be able to buy credits or a second number. And not only did Microsoft not announce the update, but they didn’t even change the interface! In fact, if you go to the service’s settings (by clicking the three-dot icon to the right of your name and selecting Settings), you’ll find the usual screen with two items under Manage: Skype to Phones and Number Skype. However, if you click Buy next to Skype Number, a screen will open warning you that the service is no longer available, while if you click Add Funds to the right of Skype to Phones, you will be greeted with a new interface. You will now have to choose a subscription based on the country you want to call, with options also for regions or the world, even with unlimited minutes.

Of course, sooner or later Microsoft will update the interface (in a statement to TechCrunch they have already announced that they are working to fix the problem), but it is certainly not a pleasant surprise for the millions of Skype users worldwide (last year, Microsoft said there were 36 million daily active users). When asked about this, the Redmond company confirmed the news, stating that existing phone numbers will continue to work, as will currently active credit. But you won’t be able to buy any more and once finished you will have to upgrade to a subscription. Skype to Skype calls will remain free as always. At this point we can say that Microsoft is trying to get the most out of a tool that has been in decline for years, crushed not only by external competition from video calling services such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Zoom, Meet or FaceTime. , but also the internal one of Teams. The latter has in fact been open free of charge to private users since 2020, and there is no doubt that it remains the Redmond company’s preferred solution.

However, Microsoft does not take user needs into account. At the moment, we don’t know how many people use Skype (Microsoft wouldn’t update the figure for 2023), or how many of them use free calls versus paid calls. But we know that there are tens of millions of them and that, at least as far as the possibility of buying a telephone number to receive calls directly, they will have no alternative.