Meta says its standalone Messenger website will no longer be available for messaging starting in April 2026. The company says people visiting messenger.com on a computer will be redirected to facebook.com/messages, while conversations will remain available through the Messenger mobile app.
“After messenger.com goes away, you will be automatically redirected to use facebook.com/messages for messaging on a computer,” Meta’s help page states.
For people who use Messenger without a Facebook account, Meta says the mobile app will be the remaining option for continuing their conversations. Messaging through Facebook’s website requires users to be logged into Facebook.
Meta’s guidance says users can restore their chat history using the PIN created when setting up a Messenger backup. It also says users who have forgotten their PIN can reset it.
Reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi shared a notice about the planned website closure in a February 17, 2026 post. Meta is also notifying users through pop-up messages on the Messenger website and app.
Website closure follows desktop-app shutdown
Meta announced plans to discontinue Messenger’s standalone Windows and macOS apps in October 2025. The apps became unavailable on December 15, 2025, with users directed to web messaging. At that stage, people using Messenger without a Facebook account could still sign in through messenger.com.
Messenger’s history alongside Facebook
Facebook launched Facebook Chat in 2008 and introduced the standalone Facebook Messenger mobile app in 2011. In 2014, Facebook began removing messaging from its main iPhone and Android apps, requiring users to switch to Messenger to continue messaging on those platforms.
In March 2023, Meta said it was testing access to the Messenger inbox within the Facebook app and planned to expand that testing. The announcement also outlined plans to integrate more messaging features into Facebook while supporting conversations through the Messenger app.
