If you like chatting with friends or family using Messenger on your Mac or Windows computer, there’s a big change coming your way. Meta has announced that it will shut down the Messenger desktop apps on Mac and Windows as of December 15, 2025. After that date, those apps will stop working, and users will be redirected to use Messenger via Facebook.com or Messenger.com.

In this post, we’ll walk through what is happening, what new features or shifts are involved, how you can prepare, and why Meta is making this move.

1. What Exactly Is Changing?

  • The standalone Messenger apps for Mac and Windows will no longer let you log in or use them after December 15, 2025.
  • Once the apps are shut down, users will be automatically redirected to Messenger on Facebook.com or Messenger.com to continue messaging.
  • Before the shutdown, Meta says users will receive in-app notifications announcing the change. After notification, there’s a 60-day window before the app is fully deprecated.
  • Meta is encouraging users to turn on secure storage and set up a PIN to preserve and sync chat history before switching to the web.
  • For Windows users, there’s an alternative: the Facebook desktop app can still be used for messaging. For Mac and Windows alike, the web version becomes central.

2. Why Is Meta Making This Decision?

a. Simplification & Focus
 Maintaining separate native desktop apps for macOS and Windows, along with mobile and web, means Meta must support multiple codebases. By consolidating toward the web, Meta can simplify maintenance, updates, and feature rollouts. 

b. Web & PWA Evolution
 Meta had already shifted Messenger toward a Progressive Web App (PWA) version starting in 2024, which runs in browsers but behaves like an app.
That move shows the web stack has become powerful enough to handle many messaging tasks without needing full native apps.

c. Usage Patterns
 Desktop usage of Messenger is relatively small compared to mobile and web. The investment to maintain apps with a low user base may not justify the cost. 

d. Security & Syncing Across Devices
 Shifting to a web-first model lets Meta ensure a unified, synced experience across devices. Using secure storage and encryption helps preserve message history and privacy as users move to web-based messaging. 

3. What to Do Before the Shutdown

If you use Messenger on your Mac or Windows desktop, here’s how you can prepare:

  • Turn on secure storage and set PIN in Messenger settings → Privacy & Safety → End-to-end Encrypted Chats → Message Storage. That ensures your chat history is safe and can sync.
  • Backup or save important media/files from your chat threads before December.
  • Switch to the web version (Messenger.com or Facebook.com) on desktop. You can also install Messenger as a web app via your browser (some browsers allow “Install to desktop” for PWAs).
  • Delete the desktop app after the shutdown since it will no longer work.
  • If using Windows, consider using the Facebook desktop app for messaging (it remains supported).

4. What Changes / New Features Implicitly Come with This

While it’s more of a shift than new features, some changes or improvements arise:

  • Unified experience: All users, whether on desktop, web, or mobile, will use essentially the same Messenger platform, which helps in maintaining feature parity.
  • Faster updates & feature rollout: Since Meta won’t need to update Mac and Windows apps separately, new Messenger features (security, UI, messaging tools) might reach users faster on the web.
  • Better security & encryption management: With secure storage and PIN features, end-to-end encrypted chats and chat backups are given more priority.
  • Reduced fragmentation: No more version mismatches or app-specific bugs on desktop—just one consistent platform.
  • Browser power leveraged: Because browsers are more capable today (notifications, background tasks, hardware access), the web version can mimic many features of native apps with better flexibility.

Conclusion

Meta’s decision to shut down the Messenger desktop apps for Mac and Windows is a meaningful shift. By December 15, users will no longer be able to use those apps and will be asked to transition to web versions via Facebook.com or Messenger.com. The move helps Meta simplify development, centralize features, and focus on a unified web-first experience.

If you use Messenger on desktop, make sure to turn on secure storage, back up anything important, and move to the web version ahead of time. While change can be inconvenient, many of the core features you love will still work—and updates may happen faster going forward.

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