Windows Live Messenger, formerly known as MSN Messenger, will finally be shut down by Microsoft on 15 March, after serving Internet users for more than 13 years.
After its launch way back in July 1999, MSN Messenger quickly became the most popular online chat service in the world. Serving hundreds of millions of users across multiple platforms, in as many as 50 different languages, Windows Live Messenger was part of most people’s everyday lives online, but with the rise of social networks and competing services such as Facebook Chat, Skype, Google Talk and iMessage, Windows Live Messenger slowly faded into the background.
After Microsoft purchased Skype in May of 2011 from shareholders including eBay, Silver Lake Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, it was clear that Windows Live Messenger’s day were numbered. This was officially confirmed by Microsoft back in November of 2012.
Microsoft provided a service that lets Windows Live Messenger users migrate early via a button that was added to the Messenger desktop app, but the move has not been plain sailing for some who have already made the jump. In some cases, contacts have not been transferring across the two services successfully.
If you still use Windows Live Messenger, it may be worth backing up your contacts manually ahead of the planned migration, and checking Skype and MSN forums for any tips to ensure that your move over to Skype is a painless one.
Existing Windows Live Messenger user accounts will be migrated to Skype ahead of the planned shutdown on March 15th. After this date, Messenger login attempts will be unsuccessful.
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