--- title: Skype Can Now Be Used Directly From A Website description: Skype for Web is now available in beta in the U.S. and U.K. canonical: https://time.com/3910852/skype-web-browser/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-05T15:42:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:05:38.949Z article:section: Business og:title: Now You Can Use Skype Right in a Web Browser og:description: The video chat service said hundreds of millions wanted it og:url: https://time.com/3910852/skype-web-browser/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6c7b910384fe40a/698853352dce0132409e40b8/4651644101.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Mobile World Congress 2015 - Day 2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Now You Can Use Skype Right in a Web Browser twitter:description: The video chat service said hundreds of millions wanted it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6c7b910384fe40a/698853352dce0132409e40b8/4651644101.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Now You Can Use Skype Right in a Web Browser ## Video: Know Right Now: Microsoft Perfecting Skype Translator [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Microsoft Perfecting Skype Translator](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jUJxjUtg.m3u8) (1:00)  _Published 2015-03-25. Some 40,000 people are already using software program Skype Translator in hopes of achieving real-time translation_ by [Benjamin Snyder / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Benjamin Snyder / Fortune Jun 5, 2015 3:42 PM CUT  A Skype logo is seen at the Microsoft pavilion during the second day of the Mobile World Congress 2015 at the Fira Gran Via complex on March 3, 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. A Skype logo is seen at the Microsoft pavilion during the second day of the Mobile World Congress 2015 at the Fira Gran Via complex on March 3, 2015 in Barcelona, Spain.David Ramos—Getty Images by [Benjamin Snyder / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Benjamin Snyder / Fortune Jun 5, 2015 3:42 PM CUT The Microsoft-owned Skype announced Friday that Skype for Web, which puts the popular video chat service in a web browser, is now available in beta mode to users in the United States and United Kingdom. “Now, anyone going to Skype.com (or web.skype.com) in the U.S. and U.K. can sign in and connect to Skype for Web to get to their conversations in an instant without downloading the Skype app,” according to a company blog [post](http://blogs.skype.com/2015/06/05/skype-for-web-beta-is-now-available-to-everyone-in-the-us-and-uk/ "undefined"). Skype says the new feature is especially helpful for those who sign-in on Skype from a mobile phone, but also want to access calls and instant messages easily. It could also be helpful for people using computers at an Internet cafe or hotel without Skype downloaded, the company says. “Skype for Web is an important step for Skype as we move towards implementing the technology to make Real-Time Communications (RTC) on the web a reality,” the company continued. “But just as importantly, we’re doing it because the hundreds of millions of people that visit Skype.com every month told us they want to call and IM when they visit our website.” The service is expected to be rolled out around the world in the next few weeks, according to Skype. Earlier in June, users [found a bug](http://fortune.com/2015/06/03/this-single-message-can-crash-skype/ "undefined") that could crash Skype – and it was only eight characters long. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3910852/skype-web-browser/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3910852/skype-web-browser/"},"headline":"Now You Can Use Skype Right in a Web Browser","datePublished":"2015-06-05T15:42:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:05:38.949Z","description":"The video chat service said hundreds of millions wanted it","url":"https://time.com/3910852/skype-web-browser/","keywords":["Tech","Smartphones","Internet","apps","Mobile","Skype","communication","Web","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6c7b910384fe40a/698853352dce0132409e40b8/4651644101.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Benjamin Snyder / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6c7b910384fe40a/698853352dce0132409e40b8/4651644101.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mobile World Congress 2015 - Day 2","caption":"Mobile World Congress 2015 - Day 2","creditText":"David Ramos—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3910852/skype-web-browser/","name":"Now You Can Use Skype Right in a Web Browser"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Microsoft Perfecting Skype Translator","description":"Some 40,000 people are already using software program Skype Translator in hopes of achieving real-time translation","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jUJxjUtg/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-25T17:28:59.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jUJxjUtg.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3910852/skype-web-browser/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3910852/skype-web-browser/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```