According to Business Insider, Facebook has quietly ended its partnership with Skype. In 2011, Microsoft and Facebook announced that they were working together to bring Skype video chat to Facebook Messenger. Now, it looks like Skype has been dropped, as video chat in Facebook Messenger has recently launched on Android and iOS (of course, not on Windows Phone).
While there have been no official comments have been made from Microsoft or Facebook, there was some speculation that the partnership was likely over when Facebook announced a video chat option that used Facebook’s technology in 2013. The possible reason for Facebook dropping Skype is that users would need to install a browser plugin in order to use Skype in conjunction with Facebook. Whereas, the Facebook video chat option works without the need for a browser plugin and Facebook can more easily make upgrades and changes to its own video chat option.
This is the second time Facebook has cut ties with Microsoft. Back in December 2014, Facebook stopped using Bing for web searches with its social network. Facebook is now developing and using its own technologies instead of relying on other companies for their technologies (video chat, search, etc). Facebook will have more control over what its users see and how they communicate.
Facebook’s mission is to stop their users from ever needing to go elsewhere for all their news, web search results, videos, or whatever they want. Ultimately, by separating from Skype, Facebook gets that much closer to becoming the go-to place for all its users web needs.
Further reading: Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Microsoft, Skype
