If you're using Messenger on macOS, you'll want to switch to something else — and probably sooner, rather than later.
According to a pair of Facebook Help Center page, Facebook is axing its Desktop apps. This includes both the Messenger app for Mac, as well as the
Meta hasn't said exactly when deprecation will start, but says that users will get an in-app notification once the process begins. From then, they'll have 60 days to use the app before it is fully deprecated.
After those 60 days are up, the app will quit working. Meta encourages users to activate secure storage before this happens and set up a pin in order to save their chat history.
Most users will be automatically redirected to Facebook.com when attempting to access the app after deprecation. For those who use Messenger without a Facebook account, they'll get rerouted to Messenger.com.
The app has already been pulled from the Mac App Store, making it unavailable for new downloads. Mobile versions, like that for iOS and Android, will likely continue to work as usual.
The news isn't exactly surprising. Meta replaced the original Messenger with a Progressive Web App in September 2024 — that quickly earned a reputation for being unreliable and half-baked.
