Facebook Messenger: Mac version will be deleted without replacement

If you still have friends or family who use Facebook’s Messenger service, you will soon have to switch to the Mac: The native client for the platform, which has been available for a good five and a half years, will soon be discontinued by the parent company Meta. The social networking company did not say why this is so, but is making a name for itself in a Support document only information on what users can do now. The application has already been taken from Apple’s App Store for macOS, but it can still be started at the moment. A fresh login was also still possible this week.

60 days after the end

The idea of Facebook Messenger for macOS was to have an application for the desktop that was equivalent to Apple’s Messages app. The application allowed Messenger to be used outside the browser, and there is still no official Facebook app for macOS. Now the step back to the web is taking place: As soon as Facebook Messenger for macOS no longer starts – which is likely to be the case in the foreseeable future due to a lack of updates – you have to switch to the browser.

“The Messenger app for Mac will be discontinued. After the setting, you will no longer be able to log in to this app and will be automatically redirected to the Facebook website to use messaging,” Meta writes about the shutdown. This seems to be taking place gradually. “If you’re using Messenger’s desktop apps, you’ll get a notification in the app as soon as it’s set.” In the version tested by Mac & i, the message appeared (very) briefly, but then disappeared immediately. After a restart, she did not reappear.

Create and transfer your PIN

If the news comes that the app will be discontinued, Meta says you still have 60 days before the app is “completely discontinued”. “Once the 60 days are up, you won’t be able to use the Messenger app for Mac. We recommend that you delete the app as it can no longer be used.” Data should not be lost. However, it seems that the Enable so-called secure storage . To do this, a PIN must be set up via the desktop app before switching to the web version. “Once you switch to Facebook.com, your chat history will be available on all platforms.”

You can check whether the storage is active via the settings under “End-to-end encrypted chats” (under data protection) and “Storage for messages”. “Activate secure storage” must be clicked there. A PIN can then be set there and, if desired, the key can also be stored in iCloud. It remained unclear at first whether one will be forced in the future to facebook.com . Meta states that Messenger accounts without a Facebook account can be accessed via messenger.com . However, this is also possible – at least for the time being – with accounts that use Facebook, as could be verified.