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Skype
.svg){kind=logo} Logo of Skype (2019–present) | |||||||||||||
 Screenshot of Skype version 8 for Windows desktop | |||||||||||||
| Original author(s) | Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn | ||||||||||||
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| Developer(s) | Microsoft | ||||||||||||
| Initial release | 29 August 2003 | ||||||||||||
| Stable release(s) [±] | |||||||||||||
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| Operating system | Windows, Windows Phone, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, iPadOS, WatchOS, Wear OS, HoloLens, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | ||||||||||||
| Available in | 108 languages[9] | ||||||||||||
| Type | Videoconferencing, VoIP and Instant messaging | ||||||||||||
| License | Proprietary software | ||||||||||||
| Website | skype.com | ||||||||||||
| Part of a series on |
| Skype |
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mobile applications |
Skype (/skaɪp/) is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for IP-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.[10] In September 2009,[11] 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.[12][13][14]
Skype originally featured a hybrid peer-to-peer and client–server system.[15] It became entirely powered by Microsoft-operated supernodes in May 2012;[16] 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.[17]
- ^ a b c d "Release Notes for Skype for Windows, Mac and Linux". Skype Support. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ a b c "Get Skype". Skype. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Skype". Microsoft Apps. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Install Skype on Linux". Snap Store. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Release Notes for Skype on Mobile". Skype Support. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Skype". Google Play. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Skype 8.134.0.202". APKMirror. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Skype". App Store. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "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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