JAKARTA - Facebook officially stopped the Messenger application for macOS on December 15, 2025. The decision, ending the short journey of the US-made desktop application which only lasted about five years. Mac users are now directed entirely to the web version of Messenger via the browser.
This decision was actually announced as early as October 15, 2025, when Meta gave a 60-day warning before the application actually stopped working. The Messenger application for Mac has even been withdrawn from the Mac App Store, although it can still be used by old users until the deadline expires.
For users who missed the announcement, Meta displays a notification directly in the application. The message is simple and clear: the desktop Messenger will be discontinued, conversations can still continue via the browser. The Messenger application on iOS and iPadOS continues to run normally without changes.
Meta also ensures that Messenger users who do not have a Facebook account can still access services as usual through Messenger.com, without the obligation to create a new Facebook account.
This step is considered unusual because Meta does not close its services, but rather cuts one platform only. Messenger itself has a long history. This service started from Facebook Chat in 2008, evolved into a standalone application, and was strengthened after Facebook acquired the Beluga group messaging service in 2011.
The new macOS version was released in March 2020, coinciding with the surge in demand for digital communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. The application was once relevant, especially through the video call and Messenger Rooms features that can accommodate up to 50 participants, making it an alternative to Zoom or Webex on a limited scale.
But the advantage was slowly eroded. Since 2021, Messenger voice and video calls can be made directly through the browser. This means that the main reason for using the desktop application is starting to disappear. The chat experience in the macOS application is ultimately not much different from the web version, just wrapped in a separate window.
The latest version of Messenger for macOS is also considered increasingly confusing. The mixture of Facebook-like features, Marketplace, to experiments such as AI Studio makes the application feel unfocused. Even so, the majority of users still come for one classic thing: sending messages, facing family groups, and occasionally deleting spam.
Meta did not provide an official explanation for the reason for the termination of the macOS application. However, in business terms, this move is considered reasonable. With the majority of users already accessing Messenger via the browser and mobile phone, maintaining the desktop application means additional costs without significant impact.
In an era where browsers are the center of everything and mobile notifications are almost never out of reach, Messenger for macOS finally fell victim to efficiency. It went without a big drama, and most likely without many actually feeling lost.
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