Meta is shutting down Messenger’s standalone desktop apps for Windows and Mac by December 15, the company has confirmed to multiple news outlets. After this, Meta users who try to access Messenger on desktop will be redirected to Facebook.com, and those without a Facebook account will be redirected to Messenger.com.

“If you’re using the Messenger desktop apps, you’ll get an in-app notification once the deprecation process begins,” a Messenger help page reads. “You will have 60 days to use the Mac Messenger app before it is fully deprecated. Once the 60 days are over, you’ll be blocked from using the Mac Messenger app. We encourage you to delete the app since it will no longer be usable.”

Users are encouraged to activate secure storage and set up a PIN to save their chat history before transitioning to the web version. After making the switch to Facebook.com, the chat history will be available on all platforms. Users can check if they have secure storage turned on by clicking the settings icon above their profile picture and then selecting Privacy & Safety > End-to-end Encrypted Chats.

In 2014, Meta created a focused Messenger experience to separate it from the many features the social media platform offered at the time. Next, the company tried to connect Messenger and Instagram Direct Messaging into one communication platform, but the idea was shelved in 2023.