How to Use Skype Safely and Privately

Discover the essentials of “How to Use Skype Safely and Privately.” This helpful guide provides an introduction to the advantages and disadvantages of Skype, along with step-by-step instructions on how to use Skype effectively. Learn crucial privacy tips to ensure your online interactions remain secure and private. Whether you’re new to Skype or looking to enhance your knowledge, this resource will help you navigate the platform with confidence and peace of mind. Stay connected and protected with our comprehensive Skype guide.

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Why Skype?

Whether you’re working from home or looking for a way to chat with others using video, Skype has broken traditional barriers to communication. Along with chatting with people in your in-app contacts, you can also use it to make international calls. If the person you’re talking to also uses a Skype account, talking to them doesn’t cost anything extra. For an extra charge, however, you can call and text your non-Skype contacts on their cellphones.

Skype Privacy

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Advantages

  • Free Skype to Skype video and voice calls
  • Available on many devices
  • Skype to Skype calls are encrypted
  • Ability to call cellphone and landlines for a fee

Disadvantages

  • Landline and international calls are not encrypted
  • Contains advertisements

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Safety and Privacy Concerns

You may have read previously about what end-to-end encryption is, but if you haven’t, it is simply a way to keep the conversation between you and whoever you are talking to, private. This means only you and the other party can see or hear what the content of the message is. While Skype does offer this feature, it is not enabled by default, meaning Microsoft, the owners of Skype, can tap into your messages if it wants to, or is requested by the government. If you are uncomfortable with the fact that someone can snoop around your messages when you’re talking to your family, it is best to enable the “Private Conversation” feature in Skype to enable end-to-end encryption.

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In order to improve Skype calls and the Microsoft virtual assistant Cortana, Microsoft hired contract workers from China to review Skype calls. What is concerning is that access to these call recordings was passed from one contractor to another in the form of an email containing the login credentials. This means that access to voice recordings could easily have been sold or stolen. While Microsoft has rectified this issue by moving these review programs to secure facilities, it is better to just opt out of these review processes and enable the “Private Conversation” feature when talking or messaging on skype. 

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You can control or access your data via the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard. Microsoft does not state how long your data is kept for. Skype allows hosts to add and remove people from calls, mute users, toggle video and subtitles on and off, share screen, send an emoji reaction, and record calls. Those who pay for Skype for Business can choose who can enter, disable instant messages, mute all participants and block participants’ video.

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Resources

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