Google, LinkedIn or Yahoo connections will no longer sync with your Microsoft and Skype account

Microsoft is sending out emails to Skype users with a notification that Google, LinkedIn or Yahoo connections will no longer auto-populate in Skype. While the message sounds alarming, the change is not expected to impact existing connections, added manually or automatically, and users will still be able to search for and add new friends.

Here is the full email below:

We are reaching out because you have connected one or more of the following social accounts to your Skype account: Google, LinkedIn, Yahoo or your Mac address book.

Unfortunately, your Skype contact list will no longer auto‑populate with social account contacts after Ju‍ly 17, 20‍‍17. Rest assured this change will not impact your existing connections whether you added them manually or automatically, and you will still be able to search for and add new friends.

As noted by Microsoft on this FAQ, the reason for the change is part of a larger picture, and because the company is now “consolidating several consumer services to deliver innovative features in future product releases.” The Redmond giant explains that as a result, contact synchronization is no longer supported for third-party social media and external email networks connected to your Microsoft account. Other noteworthy tidbits about this change can be seen below.

Third-party social media and external email networks affected by this change include LinkedIn, Twitter, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, and Sina Weibo. You can add and maintain contacts that were created using a Microsoft account. These contacts may have been created through Outlook.com or Skype. If you connected third-party social media or external email network accounts to a Microsoft account through the People web app, contact synchronization will stop. Third-party social media or external email network contacts will not be visible in contact lists on Outlook.com or OneDrive. Contacts in your social media and email networks are not affected by this change. To maintain contacts in your social media or email networks, use the native apps for those services.

Microsoft adds that these changes will also affect the Windows 8.1 People app as well as the Windows 8 and 8.1 Calendar app, which used to be consistent with the “Hub” philosophy of Windows Phone 7 and 8. Let us know in the comments if you’re disappointed to see that Microsoft is no longer playing nice with other social media accounts.