Meta Will Shut Down Messenger Website, Merge Back with Facebook

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JAKARTA - Meta announced that they will close the Messenger website permanently in April. After it is officially closed, users can only exchange messages on the main Facebook site.

Every time a user accesses the Messenger domain, they will be automatically redirected to the messaging feature on the Facebook platform. Even though the domain is redirected, all chat rooms will still exist because user conversation data will not be lost.

"After messenger.com is closed, you will automatically be redirected to use facebook.com/messages to send messages on the computer," Meta wrote on its help page, quoted on Saturday, February 21.

If users only want to access Messenger without opening Facebook, they have to open the messaging platform through the mobile application. This is because Meta still separates Messenger and Facebook into two different applications.

The merger of Messenger into the main Facebook site follows the closure of the Messenger desktop application for Windows and Mac. This is done because Meta wants to simplify its service ecosystem by reducing the number of standalone platforms.

Some users may object to this new policy. The reason is that the Facebook site is more difficult to access daily if users only want to chat or exchange messages with their friends.

The history of Messenger began when it was introduced as Facebook Chat in 2008. After being present on Facebook, Meta separated this messaging service in 2014 before finally reuniting Messenger and Facebook in 2023.