Out of the many desktop Skype users, most of them usually want to do one single thing: they want to start a conversation as quickly as possible.
To use the usual Skype requires an account, so people need to either sign in or sign up. But many people just want to skip that process. And this is exactly what Skype is introducing.
On November 14th, 2016, the popular video chat and voice call service announces that people don't need to do any of that anymore. As matter a fact, people don't even need to download anything to use Skype.
In order to use the web version of Skype, they only need to join Skype as a guest to start chatting, voice or video calling without any hassle.
This goes down to the very basic. People just need to visit Skype's desktop version on Skype.com, tap start a conversation and add a name. They will then receive a unique conversation link which they can be shared with anyone. And when that link is clicked, others can join the conversation immediately.
What this means: anyone can use Skype for one to one calling, group chatting, voice and video calls, screen sharing to even file sharing. Users can invite up to 300 people to chat and up to 25 people on a voice or video call.
All that for free.
For a quick conversation without hassle or gimmick, using Skype as a guest will certainly ease the process of using it. But using it as a guest, things are limited.
Skype will limit conversation to last for only 24 hours before being wiped clean. So logs, the ability to return to a conversation after closing the browser, for example, aren't available. To get the most out of what Skype can give, people still need to have an account.
While this feature is indeed a great improvement to Skype, Microsoft is clearly late in the game. Most other messaging apps already support voice and video calling, so sharing a Skype link on them won't do any good.
But for the overall Skype on the web experience, it can definitely shine better.