Using Skype in Your Browser, web skype.

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Using Skype in Your Browser

Although Microsoft Skype works best with its dedicated app, the web-browser version is certainly robust and worth use when you cannot run the app.

Using Skype for Web

Using Skype in a web browser is straightforward — just visit the Skype website and sign in with your Microsoft account.

Microsoft has been upgrading the Skype experience for the web to accommodate new technologies. Over late 2018 and early 2019, various preview versions, some with significantly different looks-and-feels, have released for users of the Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome browsers.

Your experience with the Skype web experience may vary because of these ongoing refinements.

The supported web browsers are Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer 10 or later for Windows, Safari 6 or later for Macs, and recent versions of Chrome and Firefox. To use Skype for Web with Windows, you must be running Windows XP SP3 or higher, and on Macs, you must be running OS X Mavericks 10.9 or higher.

The Skype Web Plugin or Plugin-Free Experience

When Skype for Web first launched, you could use Skype for instant messaging and share multimedia files, but not as a VoIP tool. To make voice and video calls in most supported browsers, you needed to install a plugin. When you first tried to initiate a call, you were prompted to download and install the Skype web plugin. With the Skype web plugin, you could make calls to landlines and mobile devices using your Skype contacts in Skype for Web, Outlook.com, Office 365, and any Skype application in your web browser.

In 2016, Microsoft introduced plugin-free Skype for Web for its supported browsers, which does not require the download of a plugin for voice and video calls. However, the plugin remains available and can be installed if your browser isn't supported or if you are using an older version of a supported browser. You will also need the plug-in if you plan to use screen sharing or if you'll be calling landline phone numbers.

The Skype web plugin installs as a standalone program, so you only need to install it once, and it works with all your supported browsers.

Skype for Web Features

Skype is known for its rich list of features, and Skype for Web supports many of them. After logging in using a web browser, you can manage your contacts and use the instant messaging functions, and configure quite a few different settings.

You can chat and create and manage group chats. You can also share resources such as photos and multimedia documents. Installing the plugin (or using plugin-free Skype on a compatible browser) gives you voice and video call capability and video conferencing with up to 10 participants. Voice calls can be with up 25 participants. Group text chatting can have as many as 300 participants. As with the Skype app, these features are all free.

You can also make paid calls to numbers outside the Skype numbers. Use the dial pad to dial the number and choose the destination country from a list. A link to replenish your credit redirects you to the "buy credit" page.

The call quality with the web version is comparable — if not equal — to the quality of the standalone app. Many factors affect call quality, so differences in quality between the two versions may not be because one is browser-based. The call quality should theoretically be the same since the work is more on the server side, and the codecs used on the servers are the same throughout the network.

Итог: Using Skype in Your Browser Although Microsoft Skype works best with its dedicated app, the web-browser version is certainly robust and worth use when you cannot run the app. Using Skype