"RIP to Facebook Messenger's desktop app. The native app for Mac and Windows is no longer available to users as of today, December 15, 2025, and existing users are being directed to the Facebook website to continue using the popular messaging service. Though originally launched at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Messenger's desktop app couldn't handle as many video call participants as business-focused rivals like Zoom, didn't offer screensharing, or easy-to-share URLs."
"More recently, the company shifted the technology underpinning the app's desktop version. According to Meta's help documentation, Messenger for Mac was built with Catalyst, which lets developers bring iPad apps to the Mac. That technology has received criticism for both developers and users - developers cited the extra work required, while users noticed apps' lack of a native feel. Before its Catalyst version, the Mac app was an Electron app that later migrated to a React Native Desktop app."
"The downgrades likely impacted user demand for a standalone Mac app, while the strategy of moving Messenger back to Facebook suggested Meta was attempting to shore up declining usage of its aging flagship social network. This fall, the company warned users that Messenger's desktop app would be deprecated by year end, and encouraged users to set up a PIN to save their chat history before moving to the web."
The native Facebook Messenger desktop app for Mac and Windows was discontinued on December 15, 2025, and users are being redirected to the Facebook website or Messenger.com. The app launched during the Covid-19 pandemic but lacked competitive video-call capacity, screensharing, and easy-to-share URLs compared with rivals. Meta shifted the Mac app through Electron, React Native Desktop, and then Catalyst, and converted the Windows client to a progressive web app. Those technical changes and feature downgrades reduced demand for a standalone app. Meta encouraged users to set up a PIN to preserve chat history before migration and provided help center guidance.
#facebook-messenger #desktop-app-shutdown #app-technology-catalystelectronreact-native #migration-to-webpwa
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