Meta to Discontinue Messenger Desktop Apps for Windows and Mac
Meta has announced it will cease support for its standalone Messenger apps on Windows and Mac, effective December 15th.Users will no longer be able to sign in to the desktop applications after this date and will be redirected to Messenger on the Facebook website, or the Facebook desktop app for Windows users.
The move follows Meta’s earlier transition of the Windows Messenger app to a progressive web app in late 2024 and the replacement of the WhatsApp UWP app with a web wrapper earlier this year-changes that drew criticism from users.
According to help pages spotted by Apple Insider and confirmed by Meta to TechCrunch, existing users will have approximately 60 days from the start of the deprecation process to continue using the apps before they become fully non-functional.Though, the help pages indicate the deprecation has already begun.
Meta is encouraging users to export their chat history by enabling secure storage within the app’s Privacy and Safety settings (End-to-end encrypted chats > Message storage) and setting up a PIN.
Support pages for Messenger on Windows and Mac are available on Facebook’s help center. The Facebook desktop app, offering Messenger access, is currently only available for Windows.
