>>>You should be able to run both versions at the same time on the same machine (with a few tweaks)... you can get old versions from here:
>>>https://skype.en.uptodown.com/windows/old
>>>
>>>I know for sure there is a way to do it -- I did it a while back. You can hack a couple of files and not only get rid of the ads, but also theforced updates. I don't remember exactly how I did it now -- but I found instructions with a google search in a few minutes when I did it.
>>
>>The better question is whether it would be still usable. Either way, if you go back far enough, you either come to a version which talks over M$'s servers and gets a FO response ("your protocol is too old, I'm not talking to you") or a P2P version which still needs a server to find others to talk with and then chat directly with them - and such server may not even exist anymore.
>
>Yeah I didn't think of that :(
>
>>Between the lines, I meant to find a replacement, like I said somewhere upstream of this thread.
>
>I mostly use either google hangouts or facebook messenger for video chat these days -- only time I bother with skype is if the other party requires me to use it.

The other two privacy monsters, of the "all your data are belong to us" religion. You may add twitter, amazon and instagram to that.

I meant something independent, if possible open-sourced, and not talking through any big corporation's servers. I may revisit Trillian, used it a lot 15-17 years ago.