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Since Microsoft has owned Skype for almost a decade, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the video chat app is now built into Windows 10. Skype comes with Windows 10 if you buy it today. The problem is that Stop Skype From Starting Automatically, which means that it opens every time you log into Windows, whether you do it yourself or Windows does it for you.
This is annoying if you don’t use Skype and want Windows to run as well as possible. Even though Skype is tied to your Microsoft account in a way that can’t be broken, you can stop it from showing up every time you sign in. Here’s what you should do.
How to Stop Skype from Starting Automatically on PC
- Open Skype and click on your Skype profile picture, located in the top-left corner of the Skype window.
- Click on “Sign out.”
- If you want Skype to remember your account information on the PC you’re using, click “Yes.” If you don’t want Skype to remember your account info on the PC you’re using, click “No.”
If you have an earlier version of Windows, there are a couple of extra steps.
- Next to your Skype profile picture, click the three dots.
- Click on “Settings.”
- In the Settings menu, click on “General.”
- In the General menu, click on the blue and white slider to right of “Automatically start Skype.” It should turn white and gray.
How to stop Skype from starting automatically on Mac
- With your Skype app open, move your cursor to your Dock. Right click on or hold down the “control” key on your keyboard and click on the Skype icon.
- Click “Options.”
- Click “Open at Login” so the check mark disappears.
What Is Skype?
Skype is a VoIP service that lets people use a computer, web browser, or mobile phone to make and receive free voice and video calls over the internet. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a way to talk over the internet instead of using landlines or cell phones.
Skype came out in 2003, when VoIP was still new. Before Microsoft bought it in 2011, it had been owned by a few different people. Skype is no longer the most used VoIP service because people now use their phones to talk. Skype hasn’t done as well on mobile devices as other apps like WhatsApp and Viber.
Skype has made it easier for people to talk to each other, whether they work from home or want to chat with others using video. You can chat with people in the app, but you can also use it to call people in other countries. If the person you’re talking to also has a Skype account, it won’t cost you anything extra to talk to them. You can, however, call and text your non-Skype friends on their cell phones for an extra fee.
FAQs
Go to Tools >> Options >> General Settings. Check if the Start Skype when I start Windows is enabled. If yes, untick/disabled it. Also, check if Sign me in when Skype starts enabled/disabled as well.
If the internet connection degrades during the call, Skype may turn off one or more video streams in group calls. Once the internet connection recovers, Skype will automatically turn the video back on. If you’re having connections issues in Windows, you can follow the troubleshooting steps in Why can’t I get online.
Click on the Programs and Features button. Find Skype from the programs list. You can click on Name to have the list organized into alphabetical order, or use the built-in search to locate the application. Click the Uninstall button, or right-click on Skype, and choose the Uninstall option.
On the right, under My account, you’ll see a checkbox for Automatically start the app when I log on to Windows. Check this to have the app start automatically. Uncheck this to prevent the app from starting automatically.