ST. LOUIS – Skype, a widely used video communication app for many, will be shutting down its service in May, its owner, Microsoft, announced today.

One of the reasons for retiring Skype was due to the evolving needs of customers, tasking the big tech company to instead shift its services to Microsoft Teams.

“With Teams, users have access to many of the same core features they use in Skype, such as one-on-one calls and group calls, messaging and file sharing,” Microsoft said in its blog post. “Additionally, Teams offers enhanced features like hosting meetings, managing calendars, and building and joining communities for free.”

Microsoft further noted that Teams is a common app most individuals use at work, school and at home, causing the platform to grow in popularity recently. 

According to Microsoft, Skype users can test out Teams with their Skype credentials during this transition period. Users can also export their Skype chats, contacts and call history if they don’t intend to switch over to Teams.

Skype was released in August 2003 and was bought by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion in cash. It will remain in service until May 5.