- Meta says it will close its Messenger app for Mac and Windows
- You have until December 15 to use their desktop apps before they are retired.
- There is no official reason for the decision yet, but many users are not happy.
Is Messenger your go-to app for monitoring your countless group chats? Well, unfortunately Meta is closing its Messenger apps for Mac and Windows, and the change is coming soon.
Starting December 15, the Messenger app on Mac and Windows devices will cease to exist, and the company has already removed it completely from the Mac App Store to stop new downloads, which was first discovered by Apple Insider. Its mobile apps for iOS and Android continue to work, but the desktop app experience is being retired.
Meta announced its decision to remove Messenger for desktop on a help page, but has not yet explained why. After deactivation, users “will not be able to log in to this application and will be automatically redirected to use the Facebook website to send messages.” For those who do not have a Facebook account but still use Messenger, you will be redirected to Messenger.com.
To prepare you for the big change, Meta will issue in-app notifications that you’ll receive when the deprecation process begins. Once you receive this alert, you will have 60 days to use your Mac and Windows apps before they are removed forever, and you will be locked out of them when this time is up.
What happens to your chat history? During this transition period, Meta encourages you to enable secure storage (see below) and set up a pin in the Messenger app before switching to the web version. Once you’ve enabled this setting, your chat history will appear in your conversations across all platforms and is fairly simple to set up.
All you need to do is tap the settings gear icon above your profile photo and then go to ‘Privacy and security’ and select ‘End-to-end encrypted chats’. From there, go to Message Storage and enable secure storage.
‘The straw that broke the camel’s back for me’
The removal process has only just begun and Meta is already receiving backlash from users who rely on Messenger for desktop for their daily communications.
The obsolescence of Messenger’s desktop apps has upset some users, especially those who left Facebook but still use Messenger.
Although users can still access Messenger through its web version, the desktop app offered an easier way to start one-on-one conversations and group chats. That convenience will disappear starting December 15, which is the main drawback for those who are primarily desktop users.
Fortunately, their mobile app is here to stay and will remain intact, unless Meta has a big 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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