what happened to skype on mac?
microsoft retired skype. its retirement page says skype is retired as of may 5, 2025, for both free and paid skype users, but not skype for business. microsoft points skype users to microsoft teams free. whether your skype history is still there depends on the dates in the table below.
this guide follows microsoft's support pages as we read them in november 2026. see also what happened to itunes on mac.
download the remynd desktop app to search text you saw in a focused window, by app and date.
where did skype users go?
microsoft says skype users can move to microsoft teams free, and that you can log in to teams free with your existing skype account. its page still says your contacts and chats will automatically be transferred when you sign in, but that described the 2025 move. whether your old chats are there now depends on the dates in the table below.
microsoft's teams for personal use requirements page covers windows, mac and web. its teams support page says teams free needs a microsoft account, and that skype users already have one.
did your skype history survive?
microsoft's answer turns on dates of use. this table follows its wording.
| your situation | what microsoft says happens |
|---|---|
| you were active on skype between december 2024 and february 2025, then moved to teams free and used it before december 1, 2025 | your skype chat and call history stays available in teams free |
| you were not active in skype and teams free in that period | microsoft's page says your data will be fully deleted after june 15, 2026 |
| you wanted a copy instead | you could request one through the skype export portal until that same date, though microsoft says it may not reflect your full history after april 1, 2026 |
| you used skype for business | not part of this retirement |
not sure whether you were active in that window? microsoft says you can check past skype and teams activity through the teams free app.
what didn't move to teams free?
microsoft lists what doesn't migrate:
- chats between skype users and teams work or school accounts.
- skype to skype for business chat history.
- 1:1 chat with self history.
- private conversations data.
- copilot and bots content, which teams free doesn't support, so no chat history is available for it.
skype meet now or chat invite links opened outside skype redirect to the same chat conversation in teams, microsoft says.
how do you open a skype export on a mac?
if you have a skype export, microsoft's export page says it comes as a .tar file and that a mac has built-in .tar support. apple's terminal guide gives two ways to open it:
- in the finder, double-click the tar file.
- or, in terminal, enter the tar command with the x flag, for example tar -xvf followed by the file name, then press return.
microsoft says an export can include files, pictures, videos, video messages, voice mail and call recordings.
what about paid skype features?
microsoft says all skype number subscriptions have ended in may 2026, skype number port-out requests are no longer available, and you can no longer buy skype subscriptions, skype numbers or skype credit. remaining paid users can still reach the skype dial pad from the skype web portal and inside teams free.
where does remynd fit?
in microsoft's work trend index, published may 9, 2023, which surveyed 31,000 full-time employed or self-employed workers in 31 markets, 62% of respondents said they struggle with spending too much of their workday searching for information. the same survey found 86% were looking for ai to help find the information and answers they need.
in our view, when an app shuts down, keep your own way back to what you saw. remynd records your screen, runs ocr locally with apple vision, and keeps a searchable index on your computer. text comes from the focused window only, and video covers windows you have not excluded.
you can exclude apps and sites, and private browser windows are excluded by default.
press control space to search in plain language, refine by app, date or source, and jump to an exact moment, provided remynd was running then, the window was not excluded and, for text, it was the focused window. it needs macos 14 or later on an apple silicon mac. it can't bring back skype chats from before you installed it.
limits of this guide
- it follows microsoft's support pages as we read them for this guide. we could not check any account's own history.
- microsoft's retirement page still carries an older answer with an earlier deletion month, and also says data deletion begins on the april date in our table. we follow the answer that names the dates in our table.
- we found no microsoft page that names an export date later than the one above.
download the remynd desktop app and search what you saw in a focused window, by app and date.