Facebook Messenger’s desktop app has reached its end. As of December 15, 2025, the native applications for Mac and Windows are no longer available. Existing users are now being directed to use the messaging service through the Facebook website.
The desktop app originally launched near the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it lacked several features compared to business-focused rivals. It could not handle as many video call participants as Zoom, and it did not offer screen sharing or easy-to-share URLs.
The app’s declining importance to Meta was evident well before the company announced its shutdown plans in October of 2025. In 2023, Facebook began merging Messenger back into the main Facebook app. More recently, the company changed the underlying technology of the desktop versions.
According to Meta’s help documentation, the Messenger for Mac app was built using Catalyst, a technology that lets developers bring iPad apps to Mac. This approach has been criticized by developers for requiring extra work and by users for apps that lack a native feel. Prior to the Catalyst version, the Mac app was an Electron app that later migrated to React Native Desktop. On Windows, the app transitioned to a progressive web app last year.
These downgrades likely reduced user demand for a standalone Mac app. Meanwhile, the strategy of moving Messenger back into Facebook appeared to be an attempt to boost engagement on the core social network.
This fall, Meta warned users that the desktop app would be discontinued by year’s end. The company encouraged users to set up a PIN to save their chat history before moving to the web version. People who use Messenger without a Facebook account are being redirected to Messenger.com, where they can log in without creating a Facebook account. More information about the transition is available on Facebook’s help center.