Microsoft to pull plug on older version of Skype for Mac, Windows

06 Feb 2017

Microsoft is pulling the plug on Skype 7.16 for Windows desktop and older versions and also version 7.18 of Skype for Mac.

The move would take effect from 1 March. According to a report in Venture Beat, both the versions came out in December 2015.

''If you're one of those users, all you'll need to do is download the new update,'' the Skype team said in a blog post on Friday.

To improve Skype, Microsoft had rolled out several  changes like migrating the app to its Azure public cloud infrastructure, and adding chatbots.

''We've poured our energy and passion into creating something truly special, and this is just the beginning,'' Skype added.

Affected users who want to continue using Skype, need to merely update your Skype client before the due date.

According to Microsoft, the change was necessary as the clients being scrapped were built for the old version of Skype and its peer-to-peer architecture.

Skype was now migrating to a cloud-based architecture, which worked better for services like file sharing from within the Skype client and mobile video chats.