Does Skype automatically save chat history to the cloud?
Solution 1:
No they don't.
Skype archives your chats for you and stores them locally on your computer, if you have enabled this option. Chat histories are not stored anywhere on the Skype network. In other words, no one else will ever be able to see any of your chat histories except you and the person you are chatting with.
(source)
Solution 2:
Yes, Skype™ does (automatically) keep your data in the cloud.
From Skype's™ Privacy Policy †; - unedited (with the exception that text within angular brackets i.e. < and > are my comments — like this: copied text <my_comment>:
1. " Skype will retain your information for as long as is necessary..."
< in essence it means arbitrary data of arbitrary amounts as deemed appropriate by Microsoft and/or Skype and/or applying jurisdictions; necessarily kept in the event that the court requires the data - read the source file >
2. "What Information Does Skype Gather AND USE?
< Way too much to mention all, see the source. A few gems: of course your transcripts, as well as banking data, ID info, cookies, geolocation, and my personal favorite: test calls made to Echo123 >
The above should be enough to answer the question, but I personally don't rely on one source, instead will research the topic at hand. I just feel the need to counter/rebut the answers of others on here, though:
- @nifle's link was about five years old at time of citing, is on their Mac forum, and refers to the user's local database (not Skype's cloud).
- You needn't be confused Joann; have a look at
- http://tos-dr.info/#skype
- http://accountkiller.com/en/delete-skype-account
In conclusion:
Read their current ToS at http://www.skype.com/intl/en/legal/terms/tou/ and do your own research; make up your own mind. ‡
If you'd like more info, I will be glad to assist if I can.
Solution 3:
At the time of writing Skype appear to keep one month's history in the cloud.
Tested by logging into https://web.skype.com whilst signed out in all other locations.
Skype let me view conversations and scroll back until messages sent from around a month ago were visible.
Of course, Skype will keep a local history of conversations by device. It is not known whether setting the device's chat history storage option to "never" will prevent messages being stored in the cloud altogether (after delivery of course).