Khaberni - The original Messenger app for the Mac and Windows operating systems, owned by Meta, will no longer be available to users as of Monday, December 15, 2025, and current users are being directed to the website to continue using the popular messaging service.
Although launched at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the desktop Messenger app was not able to accommodate a large number of participants in video calls compared to business-oriented competitors like Zoom, nor did it provide features like screen sharing or easy-to-share links.
The diminishing importance of the app for Meta was evident long before the company announced its discontinuation plans last October, according to a report by "Tech Crunch," a site specializing in technology news, reviewed by "Al Arabiya Business".
Messenger History
Facebook Messenger was originally known as "Facebook Chat" in 2008 before being renamed. It soon became available on several different platforms, thanks to Facebook's acquisition of the group messaging service "Beluga" in 2011, which led to the launch of the iOS version of the app.
In 2014, Facebook began separating Messenger from the main website, forcing users to download a separate Messenger app for their mobile platform. Around the same time, a version of the app for iPads was launched.
Mac users had to use iPhones or iPads to run the app or continue using it via a browser, until 2020. In March of that year, coinciding with the outbreak of COVID-19, Facebook made the macOS version of the app available for download from the Mac App Store.
In 2023, Meta began re-integrating Messenger into the Facebook app, as Meta was trying to compensate for the declining use of its main old social network.
With the closure of the app itself in 2025, it means that the Facebook Messenger app for macOS lasted only five years. This is a very short time, considering that "Facebook Chat" had been around for 17 years, and that iPhone and iPad apps had appeared for 14 years and 10 years respectively.
On Windows, Messenger evolved into an advanced web app last year.
App Discontinuation
This fall, Meta warned users that the desktop Messenger app would be discontinued by the end of the year, urging them to set a "PIN" to save their chat history before moving to the web.
After the discontinuation of the app, Messenger users who do not have a Facebook account will be redirected to "Messenger.com," where they will be able to log in without creating a Facebook account.
