Meta to End Messenger Web Service

Meta, a world-renowned company, has made a final decision to discontinue its Messenger website (messenger.com) starting April 2026. According to the official support page of Meta, this website will no longer be available to its users and will instead redirect them to facebook.com/messages, a feature within Facebook. With the closure of the Messenger website, users who wish to use Messenger services on their computers will need to log in through the Facebook website. Meta states that users' chat and message data will remain within the Facebook messaging interface.

Impact on Users Without Facebook Accounts

This change will particularly affect users who use Messenger without having a Facebook account. After April 2026, they will no longer be able to use Messenger via the web and will only be able to use the mobile app. Meta notes that if users have their secure backup PIN for restoring chat history correctly saved, they can use it to recover their messages. If the PIN is forgotten, Meta provides an option to reset it.

History and Changes of Messenger

Messenger was first launched in 2008 as "Facebook Chat" and was developed into a standalone mobile app in 2011. In 2014, messaging was removed from the mobile Facebook app, introducing Messenger as a separate service. However, starting in 2023, Facebook began reintegrating features, ideas, and messaging capabilities back into the Facebook app, unifying the platform. Meta has also discontinued standalone Messenger desktop apps (for Windows and Mac), and now the discontinuation of the web version is another step towards simplifying their product ecosystem and reducing operational costs.