Microsoft has eliminated two of Skype’s main premium features: credits and custom phone numbers. Instead of credits, the company now promotes subscriptions – at regional and global prices, depending on your needs. When it comes to using a phone number other than your cell phone, there is no longer an alternative on the platform.
The first wind of change came when a volunteer moderator on Microsoft’s Skype forum responded to a user who wanted to know why he couldn’t buy new credits. “We just got some new information from Microsoft,” said Skype moderator Ruwim. B, who boasted a cute picture of Yoda on his profile. “Skype has stopped purchasing Skype Credit for all users. The only option available now is a monthly call subscription.”
When another user asked for confirmation that this meant there was no option across the platform to send SMS messages when you were running low on credits, the moderator replied: “Unless they decide to add a permanent SMS subscription, you will no longer be able to send outgoing SMS messages from Skype.”
Microsoft confirmed the changes in a statement to TechCrunch, saying that the company is “continually evaluating product strategy based on usage and customer needs.” A company spokesperson explained that existing Skype numbers will still work and existing credits can still be used, but once they run out, that will be the end of it. Now, instead of credits, only subscriptions can be purchased and you will have to look for other platforms that offer a virtual phone number that can be answered over VoIP.
Skype to Skype calls have always been and remain free. If that’s all you use the service for, nothing should change. When you call landlines or supported mobile numbers (if you have credit or a subscription), you can still use Caller ID, which shows the caller your real mobile phone number. Thus, disabling Skype Caller ID only affects you if you want to call or send messages to non-Skype numbers, or if you want a custom number to be displayed (e.g., with the country code of the country you are calling).
This product ranks alongside Google Voice as a service that once seemed poised to conquer the new mobile world, but instead remained in a niche. As alternatives such as Zoom, FaceTime, and WhatsApp have captured much of the demand for internet calling and messaging in the pandemic era, Microsoft-owned Skype has played second fiddle even within the company itself. Microsoft has invested much more in promoting its favorite calling platform, Teams.
You may have noticed that Microsoft doesn’t advertise Skype as much as it did in the first few years after buying the company for $8.5 billion in 2011. It’s no longer in the habit of touting Skype’s user base during earnings calls (or elsewhere). As TechCrunch notes, the last mention of this was in a blog post last year, which stated: “More than 36 million people use Skype every day to make phone calls and chats across borders and around the world.”
It’s unclear if these numbers are still valid, and we also don’t know how many people relied on premium features that are now gone. Regardless, it’s safe to assume that a significant portion of people around the world still rely on the platform’s paid features, at least to some extent. Those who use something other than free Skype-to-Skype calls now have to weigh the cost of a subscription or look for other options.
