- Meta says it’s shutting down its Messenger app for Mac and Windows
- You have until December 15 to use its desktop apps before they’re retired
- There’s no official reason for the decision yet, but many users aren’t happy
Is Messenger your go-to app for keeping tabs on your countless group chats? Well, unfortunately Meta will be shutting down its Messenger apps for Mac and Windows – and the change is happening soon.
From December 15, the Messenger app on Mac and Windows devices will cease to exist, and the company has already removed it from the Mac App Store entirely to stop new downloads – which was first spotted by Apple Insider. Its iOS and Android mobile apps are still working, but the desktop app experience is being retired.
Meta announced its decision to axe Messenger for desktop in a help page, but has still yet to offer a reason why. Following its deprecation, users “won’t be able to log into this app and will be automatically redirected to use Facebook website for messaging”. For those who don’t have a Facebook account but still use Messenger, you’ll be redirected to Messenger.com.
To prepare you for the big change Meta will be issuing in-app notifications which you’ll receive when the deprecation process starts. Once you receive this alert, you’ll have 60 days to use its Mac and Windows apps before they’re removed forever, and will have access blocked when this time is up.
What about your chat history? During this transition period, Meta is encouraging you to enable secure storage (see below) and set up a pin in the Messenger app before you make the switch to the web version. Once you’ve enabled this setting, your chat history will appear in your conversations across all platforms, and it’s fairly straightforward to set up.
All you need to do is tap the settings cog icon above your profile picture, and then go to ‘Privacy & safety’ and select ‘End-to-end encrypted chats’. From there go to Message storage and enable secure storage.
‘The final straw for me’
The phasing-out process has hardly begun, and Meta is already receiving backlash from users who rely on Messenger for desktop for daily communication.
The deprecation of Messenger’s desktop apps has rubbed some users the wrong way – especially those who have left Facebook but keep using Messenger.
Though users can still access Messenger via its web version, the desktop app offered an easier way of launching one-on-one conversations and group chats. That convenience will go away from December 15, which is the main downside for those who are primarily desktop users.
Luckily, its mobile app is here to stay and will remain untouched, unless Meta has a huge surprise up its sleeve. We’ll update this story if Meta gives us a reason for this unexpected decision, but for now desktop users should follow the process above before switching to the web version.
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