Skype usernames are on the way back, currently 'in progress'

By Sean Endicott
published

Skype usernames are still on the way, allowing you to customize how people see your name on Skype.

Skype on iOS
Skype on iOS (Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Skype usernames will return to Skype in the future.
  • A Skype Community Manager states that the feature is "in progress."
  • The same manager adds that there are technical and legal blockers in the way right now.

Skype usernames are on the way back, according to a Skype forum. Skype Community Manager, Petr, states that Microsoft is still working on bringing back usernames to Skype in a Skype forum. Petr responded to a piece of feedback from December 2018, so the feature has been in progress for a while.

Petr states that there are "many blockers for [the Skype team], both technical and legal but it is in progress."

Skype usernames may be seen by some as an odd addition, considering that Skype has a large base of professional users and usernames are often used casually, but one comment points out that usernames allow you to keep the same account without showing a silly email address that you used as a kid.
Skype


Skype allows you to message, call, and video call millions of people around the world.

Sean Endicott
Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com (opens in new tab).

4 Comments
  • User names is the least of Skype's troubles. It feels like a poorly written beta the developer has abandoned.
  • That has been ongoing for practically aeons.
  • "...but one comment points out that usernames allow you to keep the same account without showing a silly email address that you used as a kid." Umm, that's what Microsoft account email aliases are for. It's a shame that more users don't seem to know about this very useful feature. I guess since Gmail doesn't have this, many people simply don't consider the possibility.
  • I like Skype a lot, but have only one friend who occasionally uses it to communicate with me while at work. If Skype had RCS/SMS fallback, it would immediately replace Google Messages as my default message app. I see a lot of complaints about Skype, but I don't understand what's not to love? I'd be interested to hear some of the actual flaws or shortcomings that generate these complaints.