Chatpane
Chatpane for Messenger / Explainer
Updated November 2026
What happened to the Messenger desktop app?
Meta shut down its Messenger apps for Mac and Windows in December 2025, and since April 2026 messenger.com has redirected to Facebook. Here is the timeline, what still works, and your options today.
The short answer
There is no official Messenger desktop app anymore, and messenger.com no longer works for chatting. On a computer, Messenger now lives at facebook.com/messages, inside Facebook.
You can use it in a browser tab, or in an unofficial desktop app such as Chatpane for Messenger (formerly Carrier) that opens that page in its own window and hides the rest of Facebook. You need a Facebook account either way.
Timeline
- Meta replaces the native Messenger app for Windows with a progressive web app, a website packaged to run like an app.
- Meta confirms that the Messenger desktop apps for Mac and Windows will shut down. The apps are removed from the Mac App Store and Microsoft Store, and an in-app notice asks people to set up a PIN so their encrypted chat history can be restored on the web.
- The desktop apps stop working. People with a Facebook account are sent to Facebook to keep chatting: the Facebook website, or on Windows the Facebook app. People who use Messenger without a Facebook account are sent to messenger.com.
- Meta announces that messenger.com will no longer be available for messaging from April 2026, and that desktop messaging moves to facebook.com/messages.
- messenger.com starts redirecting to facebook.com/messages. Messenger-only accounts, without a Facebook profile, can now chat only in the Messenger mobile app.
Meta did not publicly explain why it retired the desktop apps or messenger.com. The mobile apps for iPhone and Android are not affected.
What still works on a computer
- facebook.com/messages in any modern browser. This is the official way to use Messenger on desktop now.
- The Facebook app for Windows, which Meta offers in the Microsoft Store. It is the whole of Facebook, with Messenger inside it.
- Unofficial desktop apps that open facebook.com/messages in a dedicated window, such as Chatpane for Messenger. Older clients built around messenger.com have had to change or have stopped working well.
What no longer works: the old Mac and Windows apps, messenger.com, and logging in on a computer with a Messenger-only account.
Your options
Ways to use Messenger on desktop today
Other unofficial clients exist too, such as Messenger Next and community forks of Caprine. See the Caprine alternative guide for an honest comparison.
If you don't have a Facebook account
This is the hardest change. Before April 2026 you could sign in to messenger.com with a Messenger-only account. Now Meta says those accounts can keep chatting in the Messenger mobile app, and desktop access requires facebook.com/messages, which needs a Facebook account.
No desktop app can work around this, Chatpane included, because every one of them loads that same page. If you want Messenger on your computer, the account you sign in with has to be one Meta lets sign in at facebook.com.
Why use a desktop app at all?
Messenger in a browser works, but it lives inside Facebook. Every visit puts the Feed, Reels and Marketplace one click away, and the tab gets lost among everything else you have open. A desktop app gives Messenger a window of its own: it starts with your computer if you want, shows unread messages on the Dock or taskbar, and sends notifications even when no browser is open.
Chatpane for Messenger was built for exactly that. It shows the real Messenger, the same one from your browser, so your chats, calls and contacts are all there and stay in sync with your phone. What it removes is Facebook around it.
Sources
- TechCrunch: Meta to shut down Messenger desktop apps for Mac and Windows (October 16, 2025)
- TechCrunch: Facebook Messenger's desktop app is no more (December 15, 2025)
- PiunikaWeb: Meta shutting down Messenger.com website in April (February 17, 2026)
- Meta Help Center: messenger.com changes
FAQ
Common questions
Why does messenger.com redirect to Facebook?
Meta retired messenger.com for messaging on April 16, 2026. Since then, visiting messenger.com sends you to facebook.com/messages, which is now the only place to use Messenger in a web browser.
Is there still an official Messenger desktop app?
No. Meta removed the Messenger apps for Mac and Windows from the Mac App Store and Microsoft Store in October 2025, and they stopped working on December 15, 2025. On a computer, Meta now points you to facebook.com/messages, or on Windows to the Facebook app. Unofficial desktop apps such as Chatpane for Messenger open facebook.com/messages in their own window.
Can I use Messenger on a computer without a Facebook account?
Not anymore. Since messenger.com closed in April 2026, Meta says people who use Messenger without a Facebook account can continue their conversations in the Messenger mobile app. Desktop access goes through facebook.com/messages, which needs a Facebook account. Unofficial desktop apps load the same page, so they have the same requirement.
Did I lose my chat history when the desktop app shut down?
Normally not. Your chats are tied to your account, so they appear on facebook.com/messages and in the mobile apps. End-to-end encrypted chats are the exception: before the shutdown, Meta asked desktop users to set up a PIN for secure storage so encrypted history could be restored on the web. If Messenger on the web asks for that PIN, entering it restores your encrypted history.
Why does facebook.com/messages show the Feed, Reels and Marketplace?
Because it is a page inside Facebook. Messenger now lives under Facebook's own top bar, so the Feed, Reels, Marketplace and notifications are always one click away. Desktop apps such as Chatpane for Messenger hide that surrounding chrome and show only your chats.
Is Chatpane an official Messenger app?
No. Chatpane for Messenger is an unofficial, independent, open-source project and is not affiliated with Meta. It opens the real Messenger web experience at facebook.com/messages in its own window, so you sign in with your usual account and your chats stay in sync with your phone.
Get Chatpane for Messenger
Free and open source, for Mac, Windows and Linux. Sign in with your usual Facebook account.
Every download, with checksums, is on GitHub.