Microsoft has announced that it will be shutting down Skype Qik on March 24, meaning that you’ll no longer be able to send or receive messages in the video chat application. However, the company said that you should worry because several of the features from Skype Qik have been already migrated into Skype’s core app.
In 2014, Microsoft debuted Skype Qik as a standalone mobile video messaging app to enable you to share moments with your friends. It relied on the capabilities from its acquisition of Qik for reportedly $100 million in 2011. That brand officially shut down three years afterwards, however, the technology was used to form Skype Qik, available for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.
It allowed you to record up to 42 seconds of video in a square format, similar to an Instagram photo (before the Facebook-owned photo sharing service upheaved itself). Skype Qik also came with enhancements to make sure that you could watch video messages faster. Specifically, messages were downloaded first and then the app notified you that you’ve received a message. It also didn’t run in the background which helped save battery life.
However, Skype learned that people didn’t prefer its Qik app: “…We've learned that several of you are already doing these things in Skype, and as a result, we migrated some of Qik’s most used features into the Skype app you already know and love.”
Users have until March 24 to save any messages they want. After that, the app will no longer function.
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