Starting next week, Skype users will be able to sign-in to other Microsoft services—like Outlook.com, OneDrive and Xbox Live—using their Skype IDs. It’s all part of an effort to consolidate customers’ online personas through a single online identity, the Microsoft Account.

“We’ve been working to bring Skype and Microsoft closer together and are excited to announce that soon you will be able to use your Skype Name to sign into other Microsoft services like Xbox, Office and OneDrive,” a Skype announcement reads. “With a single sign-in (and an email address for certain services) you will soon be able to have fun on Xbox Live, access your photos and documents through OneDrive, check your email on Outlook.com, and connect with your friends and family on Skype.”

Microsoft has offered the ability to tie your Skype account to your Microsoft account for years, but this is the final piece of the puzzle. Going forward, you will be able to use both accounts interchangeably when using Microsoft’s consumer services. And if you have two-step authentication set up on your Microsoft account—as you should—that will pass through automatically to your Skype sign-ins as well. Which is excellent.

When I spoke with Skype back in July, I was told this integration was coming, and that one of the benefits is that Skype users who forget their Skype ID passwords will now have full reset and recovery functionality through the normal Microsoft account web experience.

“The Skype sign-in screen, password change and account recovery flow are now managed by Microsoft,” the Skype team explains. “None of these changes will affect your ability to use Skype: As usual, you can still sign in using your Skype Name.”

Tagged with Microsoft account, Security