Meta is pulling the plug on Messenger's standalone desktop apps for Windows and Mac on December 15, forcing millions of users to migrate to the web version. The move signals Meta's broader push to consolidate its messaging ecosystem under Facebook's umbrella, potentially alienating power users who prefer dedicated desktop applications.
Meta just delivered a digital eviction notice to millions of Messenger desktop users. Starting December 15, the company's standalone apps for Windows and Mac will go dark, automatically redirecting users to Facebook's website instead.
The tech giant confirmed the shutdown to TechCrunch on Thursday, giving users roughly two months to adjust their workflows. According to Meta's support documentation, desktop users will receive in-app notifications once the deprecation process begins, followed by a 60-day countdown to complete shutdown.
"You will have 60 days to use the Mac Messenger app before it is fully deprecated," the company states in its help pages. "Once the 60 days are over, you'll be blocked from using the Mac Messenger app. We encourage you to delete the app since it will no longer be usable."
The move isn't entirely surprising - AppleInsider first spotted Meta's internal communications about the shutdown earlier this week. But the timing reflects Meta's accelerating consolidation of its messaging products under the Facebook brand umbrella.
This decision builds on Meta's September 2024 strategy shift, when the company replaced native Messenger apps with Progressive Web Apps on Microsoft's app store. That transition already pushed some users toward web-based alternatives, but the complete desktop app shutdown represents a more dramatic break from standalone messaging.
For affected users, Meta is recommending two primary alternatives: Windows users can migrate to the Facebook desktop app, while both Windows and Mac users can access Messenger through Facebook.com. The company is urging users to enable secure storage and set up PINs before the transition to preserve their chat histories across platforms.
"Once users transition to Facebook.com, their chat history will be available on all platforms," Meta explains, though the process requires manual activation of end-to-end encryption storage through Messenger's privacy settings.
