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Skype has long been known for its free peer-to-peer calling and video chats. If you use Skype to chat with friends, family, or business contacts, learn how to screen share on your new Chromebook, desktop computer, or mobile device. You can use a web browser, the desktop app, or the Android app.
How to record Skype calls
Don't let details slip away during Skype calls. Record and download Skype calls with ease
Despite facing competition from video conferencing services like Zoom and Google Meet, Skype has maintained its stronghold in the segment thanks to unique features that other services don't provide. It is one of the few services that allow users to call mobile or landline numbers. The app is also easy to set up and use and integrates with the Microsoft account that most business users have.
How to change your name on Skype
A quick guide to updating your Skype name — get a new virtual identity
Skype is a pioneer in video calling and is one of the best free platforms for staying connected with friends, family, and colleagues. It is known for reliable video and voice communication, offering a smooth experience for virtual meetings, catch-ups, and collaborative work. Its versatility makes it a popular choice for users across various devices, and if you use Skype on a Chromebook, it can be your go-to app for quality communication.
How to block someone on Skype
It's time to draw clear boundaries and signal the end of a relationship on Skype
Not everyone needs to have access to you, and Skype helps you make sure of that. You can block people from calling or messaging you when they cause you discomfort, harass you, or you don't like them. They don't have to be on your contact list. As long as you can navigate to their profile, the option is there for your convenience. There's a slight variation in how you use this feature on different devices. But overall, it's simple.
How to delete your Skype account
Looking to get rid of that unused Skype account? You're going to hit a snag
Like Mad Men, BlackBerry, and Nickelback, Skype was a huge deal in 2009. So much so that Microsoft paid $8.5 billion for the company. Unfortunately, Skype's popularity, much like its late-aughts contemporaries, has waned over the past decade.
If you use Skype for conversations but want features found in apps like Discord that allow you to play music during calls, this article is for you. With help from third-party audio routing apps, you can play music inside Skype calls, so you and your caller can listen to the same music. In this guide, we show you how to play music on Skype. Put on a pair of noise-canceling headphones, and let's get started.
How to mute someone on Skype
Navigate Skype like a pro: Mute calls, manage group chats, and set privacy easily on your desktop and smartphone
When you're engaged in a Skype call, you might be in a situation where you must mute the person on the other end. It can happen anytime, like when you need to deal with something urgent without distraction, drown out the jet engine noise during a conference call, or handle the voice echo from your colleague's microphone. It's all part of the ebb and flow of digital communication.
How to cancel your Skype subscription
Need to cancel your Skype subscription? Don't worry, it's a breeze!
Skype is still one of the best options to make international calls, especially if you want to connect to someone who isn't internet savvy. Skype is one of the few services that allows you to call a mobile or landline number.
How to use Skype on Chromebook
Run Skype on your Chromebook like an Android app, or use the web version
Skype is still widely used, even with Zoom and Google Meet stealing the spotlight. Statistics show over 300 million active users interact with the free video calling platform. Most prefer to make a video call on their personal computers rather than mobile phones. Downloading and installing it is an easy task for Windows, Mac, and Linux OS, but not for ChromeOS.
How to turn your smartphone into a professional Zoom webcam: Mounts, lights, and more
Upgrade the look of your video conferences without using an impossible-to-find webcam
With the recent rise of the Zoom era for people working from home, you'd expect the webcam market to see a big push in product innovation. We witnessed a massive jump in sales for webcams, but little has changed regarding new features. Many webcams are lagging behind because smartphones have become the primary multimedia device we use for just about everything, including video calls. Smartphones these days have powerful dedicated image processors and fancy AI tricks up their sleeves, which most traditional webcams simply can't match.
You can now make 911 calls directly from Skype
Microsoft seems to have learned its lesson from the Teams disaster
Microsoft-owned Skype is out with a new app update on all of its platforms and it includes one feature that a few Android users might need to be wary about: emergency calling. Yes, the thing that Skype warned you not to do with Skype.
Skype hopes its latest overhaul is enough to win you back
A visual redesign, performance boosts, and much more
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft has spent the last year and a half focused on making Teams as great as it can be. It's not the only messaging tool the company owns, of course. Skype might not be what you turn to in the age of Meet, Duo, and — yes — FaceTime, but it's still a massively popular tool for communicating with your friends and loved ones online. Microsoft is working hard to modernize the once-dominant video chat app, starting with an all-new redesign in its latest update.
Many Android fans believe in a sort of holy grail: That iMessage can somehow be brought to Android. Almost everything else when moving from iOS to Android has a workaround, an app, or some way to accommodate it, though iMessage remains an Apple-controlled platform exclusive with a dominating presence in the US market. But a new app formally launching today called Beeper aims to change that, delivering not just iMessage for Android, but a single unified messaging app for all your other services, too, like Telegram, Slack, Signal, Twitter DMs, Discord, Hangouts, and even IRC.
Skype adds support for chat bubbles on Android (APK Download)
The update is already available to download
Earlier this year, Google integrated bubble notifications into the core Android 11 experience. The new feature allows designated chat apps to open free-floating windows that can be minimized to movable bubbles. The latest app to add support for this is Skype, and you can already try it out for yourself.
Skype adds Android Auto support in latest update, but only for text messages
No VoIP calls in the car
Microsoft's messaging platform Skype is still very much alive, even though the company is starting to roll out the business-oriented Microsoft Teams to everyone. The latest update to the Android application finally includes Android Auto support, but there's a catch — only text messages will appear on your car's screen, not voice or video calls.
Skype used to be the go-to messaging app several years ago until it got gradually dethroned by competitors like WhatsApp and Messenger. However, Microsoft has been working on making its software more appealing lately, thanks to new features such as SMS messaging and screen sharing. The company is continuing to improve the app, as it's gaining new abilities, including the option to save drafts, bookmark messages, and preview media.
Even though our phones are very capable, many of us spend the day staring at a computer screen. Whether you're working or in a meeting, it's usually more convenient to text from your desktop, rather than taking your phone out of your pocket. Skype made this quite convenient, as the app's SMS Connect feature allowed you to chat with other users, as well as send and sync your phone's SMS messages with your computer. Unfortunately, Microsoft has just announced the functionality is going away, prompting users to switch to another solution.
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- It didn't take long for screen sharing to make it into the app's stable build, and Skype started seeding version 8.43.0.53 earlier this week, incorporating the feature.
Sharing your desktop is common, especially during business meetings. However, there are times when you'd like to show your phone's screen to the person you're talking to. This can be particularly useful when speaking to someone who's helping you solve an issue on your handset. Unfortunately, most devices don't have a built-in screen sharing option, and only a handful of messaging apps let you do that seamlessly. Thankfully, Skype is bringing the feature to Android and iOS, making screen sharing across platforms easier.
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Once, Skype was the go-to video chat app, but those days are long over. With the rise of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Duo, and others, many users don't see a reason to have yet another app on their phone when it has the same functionality. However, some people still depend on Skype, be it for business or habitual reasons. This number might shrink further on Android: We're receiving reports that the Microsoft app automatically answers calls for some users, potentially letting callers catch them in unfortunate circumstances.