Messaging on Teams can be as fun as a little break when you use the Meta Ends Messenger app on your computer! Everyone enjoys a little win when a message comes through, don’t they? Teams and Messenger, they provide a distraction-free environment; it’s all calm and quiet except the little ‘dings’ when a message comes through.
On another note, something very important is coming up and that is the end of desktop support for Meta Ends Messenger. Those Windows and Mac apps? Forget them, they won’t be there, support or not. Without support, those apps will be completely useless. There’s a mess with Docs, Windows Messenger, and a couple other things. It’s a mess and things are changing quickly.
Some Messenger users may have expected this. In September 2024, they introduced a Progressive Web App, and people have been saying their desktop experience has not been good since then. People’s concerns have been validated, and a change has been made. It’s official, Meta Ends Messenger desktop functionality.
To Meta, this change is a courtesy. It’s within the app, and users have been notified of this change with a timeline. So, you should get a notification with a 60-day countdown and after that, the whole app will disappear.
The 60-day deadline is extremely important. “Sixty days is a lifeline, not a license to delay or procrastinate” it is quoted from tech analyst Sarah Chen. She is encouraging you to get to work. If you depend on a desktop to communicate with others or have a focused work environment, you should think about what that new routine is going to look like. You don’t want to procrastinate when you have deadlines to meet.
After sixty days are up, the app will no longer be usable. If you don’t have the desktop client, you will not be able to access it at all. But don’t worry Facebook users can still log on to the browser version. For those on Messenger, it is all moving to Messenger.com. With the app being removed from the Mac App Store, new users can’t even download the app, and it looks like the user base is going to keep dwindling. So, if you are relying on Meta Ends Messenger for desktop access, you should make some changes.
Meta recognizes this, which is why they have been urging users for the past seventy-two days to “Enable Secure Storage and set a PIN.” This is particularly essential now that they’re taking away desktop Messenger support.
You can keep your conversations private and keep hold of those family updates, project details, and lovely memories you’ve saved over the years. Honestly, switching from the desktop client to an end-to-end encrypted backup is pretty simple. If you don’t do this, let’s just say those memories can start to vanish. So, yes, this step is very important, especially with the upcoming adjustments from Meta.
To clarify, I’m only talking about the desktop client for Mac and Windows, and that’s the only thing that’s shutting down. If you use mobile, which many do, you don’t have to worry. The apps on your iOS and Android phones should continue to function as well. Meta is clearly pivoting to mobile communication and away from the desktop web experience. Some might see this as an annoyance. Others might see this as a major disruption and feel it is a little more extreme than just an inconvenience.
Unlike using a browser, a distraction-free desktop app environment is great. People may have to find new ways to focus, I guess using Messenger.com or some other third-party apps to get things done will probably won’t work.
More and more, a dedicated desktop experience is leaving to the past. Meta made a choice to no longer develop Messenger’s desktop.
Think of new annoying notifications as a little nudge to protect your data and rethink some old ways to communicate. Notifications on the desktop app will die down, but conversations should continue, even with the end of desktop Messenger.
