10 Interesting Facts About Skype (And 10 Fun Ones)
You probably don't know many of these Skype facts
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Key notes
- Skype has been around for two decades, and there are many things that you don't know about it.
- Join us while we explore some of the most interesting facts about Skype.
Skype was one of the most used instant messaging services in the last decade, but today we’re going to share some facts about Skype with you.
Recently we wrote about how many people still use Skype, and it seems Skype still has an incredibly active user base.
So join us while we take a closer look at some Skype facts you didn’t know about.
What are some Skype facts?
- It was launched in 2003
- Skype has 2 billion users and over 300 million active users
- The company is worth between $10 billion and $12 billion
- Over 52,900 + companies use Skype
- Users spend 3 hours and 12 mins per week on Skype
- EBay acquired it in October 2005
- It was a pioneer of instant communication
- It’s banned in several countries
- It replaced MSN Messenger
- Emergency numbers don’t work on Skype
- The US accounts for 13% of Skype.com’s traffic
- The younger generation mostly uses Skype
- More than 50% of Skype users earn $100,000+ annually
- Skype had 31.8% of the video call market share in 2020
- Conferences on Skype can last up to 24h
- It offers real-time transcriptions in 35 languages for free +
- The original name wasn’t always Skype
- The software is based onKazaa’sP2P backend
- Skype phones existed in the past
- Skype Wi-Fi hotspots existed in the past
What are some interesting facts about Skype?
1. It was launched in 2003
Skype as an application was released in August 2003, and it was one of the first instant messaging apps on the market.
It was created by Niklas Zennström, Janus Friis, and four developers from Estonia.
2. Skype has 2 billion users and over 300 million active users
According to estimates by Statista, Skype is projected to reach more than 2 billion registered users in 2023.
Regarding the active users, it has 300 million active monthly users, and 40 million users daily users worldwide.
3. The company is worth between $10 billion and $12 billion
Since Skype isn’t a publicly traded company, it’s hard to give an exact value on its worth.
However, Microsoft’s annual report for 2016 says that Skype earned $2.2 billion in revenue and had an operating income of $361.
Assuming that the company had a similar growth rate, it can be assumed that it’s currently worth around $10-12 billion.
Keep in mind that this is just an assumption, and a lot has changed in the market since 2016, so this information might not be 100% reliable.
4. Over 52,900 + companies use Skype
Skype isn’t popular with home users as it was in the last decade. Skype was replaced with Microsoft Teams in Windows 11.
However, many companies still use Skype daily.
| Country: | Number of companies: |
|---|---|
| United States | 38,537 |
| United Kingdom | 8,004 |
| India | 3,994 |
| Canada | 3,414 |
| France | 2,077 |
| Australia | 1,991 |
| Brazil | 1936 |
| China | 1445 |
| Italy | 1244 |
| Germany | 1223 |
It seems that more than half of these companies are located in the United States, but as you can see, many companies around the world still rely on Skype for communication.
5. Users spend 3 hours and 12 mins per week on Skype
Users spend just over 3 hours weekly on Skype, and most of this usage can be attributed to business use.
This seems a bit low, considering how many companies still rely on Skype for communications.
6. EBay acquired it in October 2005
eBay already acquired PayPal in 2002, and it successfully integrated its payment features with other eBay services.
The same was expected with Skype in 2005 after a $2.6 billion accusation, and eBay had the following plans:
- Incorporate Skype’s user base into eBay.
- Establish Skype as a means of communication on eBay.
However, eBay users didn’t accept Skype as a mode of communication, and at the time, it seemed unnecessary.
This resulted in Skype being unable to integrate successfully into eBay’s business structure. In 2009, eBay sold Skype to an investor group while holding 30% of the share.
Then in 2011, the remaining 30% was sold to Microsoft.
7. It was a pioneer of instant communication
In the early 2000’s, there weren’t many instant messenger services available. While MSN Messenger was popular, it was slowly losing its user base to Skype.
In fact, Skype was the most popular tool for international calls in the last two decades.
| Year | International call market share % |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 3 |
| 2006 | 4 |
| 2008 | 8 |
| 2009 | 12 |
| 2010 | 13 |
| 2012 | 33 |
| 2013 | 36 |
| 2014 | 40 |
Skype was available even on older mobile phones and PCs, and before the rise of WhatsApp and other instant messenger apps, Skype was a go-to choice for instant communication and calls.
8. It’s banned in several countries
The following countries have banned Skype:
- Uzbekistan
- Bangladesh
- Morocco
- Oman
- China
- United Arab Emirates
- Saudi Arabia
There are several reasons why these countries have banned Skype. For example, Uzbekistan demanded that foreign companies store data about its users on Uzbekistan’s soil, and after Skype refused, they were banned.
In China, for example, Skype is banned from the app store since it doesn’t comply with local laws. On the other hand, United Arab Emirates only allows licensed VoIP services to operate in the country to protect the domestic economy and services.
And in other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the service is banned due to government monitoring and information restriction.
9. It replaced MSN Messenger
In the early 2000s, MSN Messenger was one of the most used instant communication services on the Windows platform.
However, Skype was rising in popularity, and Microsoft, to deal with the competition, acquired Skype in 2011.
In November 2012, it was announced that MSN Messenger would be discontinued in April 2013 and replaced by Skype.
Of course, Messenger users could sign into Skype with their Microsoft account and find their contacts, and eventually, Skype replaced MSN Messenger in its entirety.
10. Emergency numbers don’t work on Skype
While Skype can be used to call landline phones, it can’t be used to make emergency calls around the world, so you shouldn’t be used for that purpose.
However, it’s possible to make emergency calls in the following situations:
- While using Skype for Windows 10, Skype for Windows, Skype for Mac, and Skype for Linux in Australia, Denmark, Finland, the UK, and the United States.
- Home phone adapters in the United Kingdom.
- Skype mobile app will dial emergency numbers through the phone’s caller app and mobile network in most countries in the world.
What are some fun facts about Skype?
1. The US accounts for 13% of Skype.com’s traffic
Despite the waning popularity of Skype, Skype’s website is mostly accessed by users from the United States. This can be attributed to many US companies that still rely heavily on Skype.
| Country | Percent |
|---|---|
| United States | 13.4 |
| Russian Federation | 6.3 |
| India | 5.9 |
| Brazil | 5.4 |
| United Kingdom | 3.9 |
Here’s the visual representation of the data:
2. the younger generation mostly uses Skype
According to data from SimilarWeb, Skype is mostly used by the younger generation. 32.56% of users are between 25 and 34 years.
On the other hand, 21.38% of users range from 18 to 24. After combining the two groups, they make up slightly over half of Skype’s user base.
So even if Skype isn’t as popular anymore among home users, it seems that millennials and Gen Z are still using it.
3. More than 50% of Skype users earn $100,000+ annually
According to reports, about 51% of Skype users earn more than $100,000 annually. This doesn’t come as a surprise since businesses and business users mostly use Skype.
Skype is still highly used in the Informative and Computer industry, so it’s no wonder to see these numbers. Here is the chart that represents the number of users in millions per industry that still use Skype.
4. Skype had 31.8% of the video call market share in 2020
In 2020, Skype had 31.8% of the market share according to EmailToolTester, however, the pandemic changed that.
The workforce and students moved to the remote working/learning model, propelling Zoom as the number one video conferencing tool.
| Platform | Market Share 2020 | Market Share 2021 | Market Share 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom | 26.0% | 47.2% | 42.7% |
| Google Meet | 1.6% | 21.1% | 31.4% |
| Microsoft Teams | 9.5% | 14.1% | 10.9% |
| Skype | 31.8% | 6.3% | 6.0% |
| Slack | 17.4% | 3.5% | 4.8% |
This is no surprise since in 2020 Zoom had 26% of the market share. However, the biggest shock came from Google Meet.
In 2020 it had only 1.6% of the market, and in just a year, it held 21.1%. In 2023, Google Meet holds 31.4%.
As for Skype, it lost most of the market share and now sits at 6%.
5. Conferences on Skype can last up to 24h
If you’re looking to have a conference on Skype, you’ll be pleased to hear that conference can last up to 24h with up to 100 participants.
On the other hand, Zoom allows up to 1000 participants, and the maximum duration of the call is 40 minutes for free users and up to 30 hours for paid users.
So, if you want to have a small conference that can last for 24h for free, Skype is your choice.
6. It offers real-time transcriptions in 35 languages for free
Unlike many services, Skype offers real-time transcriptions for conferences in 35 languages. And best of all, this feature is available completely free.
However, before you can use it, it needs to be configured by the broadcaster.
7. The original name wasn’t always Skype
That’s right, the original name wasn’t Skype, it was Skyper, but since Skyper’s domain was taken, the name was changed to Skype.
Skyper stands for Sky peer-to-peer, and it was named that way Skype was using the first peer-to-peer IP telephony network.
8. The software is based on Kazaa’s P2P backend
Skype was developed by Estonian developers Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, Jaan Tallinn, and Toivo Annus. Some of these developers worked previously on a popular file-sharing software called Kazaa.
Just like many file-sharing apps, this one used peer-to-peer protocol. When developing Skype the developers used the same P2P principles that they used with Kaaza.
By doing so, the quality of your connection was improved depending on the number of other users in your area, thanks to the P2P technology.
9. Skype phones existed in the past
Before smartphones, you could only use Skype on your computer. However, there were special mobile phones that had built-in Skype support.
There were also Skype VoIP phones available that you could use, and even adapters that you could connect to your landline phone and turn it into a VoIP phone.
This was revolutionary technology when it was first introduced since it allows users to use Skype and make international calls without using their PC.
10. Skype Wi-Fi hotspots existed in the past
In the early 2010s Skype introduced a service called Skype WiFi that allowed users to make Skype calls without having to pay for WiFi access.
Instead, you could make Skype calls by paying with your Skype credit. It was an interesting feature since it didn’t ask you to purchase a Wi-Fi session or log into a Wi-Fi portal to use it.
However, the service was canceled on late March 2017, but it’s interesting to see how Skype was used outside of your home before smartphones appeared on the market.
Conclusion
Nowadays, Skype has lost the majority of its popularity, and it holds just 6% of the video conferencing market share. However, it’s still used by many businesses worldwide.
As for the number of registered users, Skype received an influx of 150 million users in 2022, but that wasn’t enough to compete with other services.
However, from 2021 to 2022, 3.8 million fewer people used Skype, even if the number of registered users grew.
It’s worth mentioning that after the acquisition from Microsoft, Skype doubled its users from 760 million to 1.95 million.
Regarding revenue, the company’s annual income fell from $722 million in 2013 to $184.3 million in 2022.
We hope that you found this guide on facts about Skype informative. If you’re looking for more fun facts, we have a great guide on interesting Microsoft facts, as well as facts about Microsoft Windows.
If you’re not a fan of Microsoft, you might want to check our guide regarding Google Drive facts.
Did we miss some interesting facts? Let us know in the comments below.
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