Several Safari and Firefox users complained on Friday when they discovered that the latest Skype for Web - which offers new features, including support for high-definition video calls, a revamped notifications panel, and a media library - was not working on their browsers. Over the years, Microsoft has moved Skype from edge clients to a cloud-first, distributed apps model, and then to a centralized architecture.
It’s worth noting that Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp services do not support voice and video calling in Safari either. Microsoft relies on WebRTC in Skype for desktop. Microsoft did not specify what underlying technology is preventing Skype for Web from supporting other browsers, but it is likely referring to WebRTC, an open source technology that enables browsers to support real-time communications. At the time, a Microsoft spokesperson declined to share when the change would occur. Last month, Microsoft started warning Firefox, Safari, and Opera users that Skype for Web, first unveiled in 2014, would no longer support their browsers and that they must use Edge or Chrome instead. The change, though upsetting for many, does not come as a surprise.
