Meta to Close Standalone Messenger Website in April 2026
Updated: 9:01 AM PST · February 19, 2026
Meta is shutting down its standalone Messenger website, messenger.com. Beginning April 2026, the site will no longer be available. Web users who still want to send and receive messages will need to sign in to Facebook and use facebook.com/messages instead.
"After messenger.com goes away, you will be automatically redirected to use facebook.com/messages for messaging on a computer," Meta's help page says. "You can continue your conversations there or on the Messenger mobile app."
What changes for users?
Web messaging: If you use Messenger on the web, you will be redirected to facebook.com/messages after messenger.com shuts down.
Mobile-only users: People who use Messenger without a Facebook account will still be able to message via the Messenger mobile app only.
Restoring chats: You can restore chat history on any platform using the PIN created when you backed up Messenger. If you forget the PIN, Meta lets you reset it.
Why Meta is making the change
This move follows recent steps to consolidate Messenger across fewer platforms. A few months ago, Meta shut down the standalone desktop apps for Windows and Mac. At that time the company had already begun redirecting desktop app users to Facebook's messaging interface, suggesting the standalone web client might also be phased out.
Meta's consolidation reduces maintenance overhead and costs by limiting the number of separate apps and websites it must support. For users, though, it means fewer choices for how to access Messenger on a computer.
User reaction and concerns
The change was first reported by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi and Meta is notifying users via pop-ups on the Messenger website and app. Many users have expressed frustration on social media. Common complaints include:
Reluctance to rely on Facebook.com for messaging.
Inconvenience for people who have deactivated or do not maintain a Facebook account.
Background: Messenger's evolution
Messenger traces back to Facebook Chat in 2008. Facebook launched Messenger as a standalone mobile app in 2011 and positioned it as a separate service. In 2014, Facebook removed messaging from its main mobile app to push users to the Messenger app. The company began reversing that strategy in 2023 by merging Messenger features back into the Facebook app.
As Meta trims standalone Messenger experiences, the company appears focused on centralizing messaging in the Facebook ecosystem—an approach that affects how people access messages on desktop and mobile.
Impact on related industries
For gamers and gaming communities that rely on quick web messaging to coordinate sessions, the change may be particularly disruptive. Gaming news and community platforms that link to messenger.com will need to update guidance and links to facebook.com/messages. Streamers and gaming groups that used browser-based Messenger for coordination might prefer alternatives such as Discord, Slack, or in-platform messaging within gaming services.
What to do next
If you use messenger.com, prepare to switch to facebook.com/messages or the Messenger mobile app.
Back up chat history and note your PIN so you can restore conversations on another device.
If you don't want to use Facebook, explore other messaging apps (Discord, Signal, Telegram) and update contacts.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
About the reporter
Aisha is a consumer news reporter at TechCrunch. She joined in 2021 after covering telecom at MobileSyrup. Aisha holds an honours bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto and a master's degree in journalism from Western University. Contact: [email protected] or encrypted on Signal at aisha_malik.01.
Image Credits: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto / Getty Images
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