Skype -

Skype's journey from a revolutionary peer-to-peer (P2P) service to its final shutdown is often analyzed as a classic case of missed opportunities.

: Skype struggled to adapt its battery-heavy P2P technology to the smartphone era, allowing mobile-first competitors like FaceTime and WhatsApp to gain ground.

: After a confusing acquisition by eBay in 2005, it was eventually sold to Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion .

: Most chat histories were automatically migrated for users who logged into Microsoft Teams Free before the final January 2026 cutoff. The Story of Skype's Decline