Meta is closing the Messenger static page

Meta is shutting down its standalone Messenger site, the company shared support page. From April 2026, the site will no longer be available. If users still want to send and receive messages online, they can do so after logging into Facebook.

“When Messenger.com goes away, you will be changed to use it facebook.com/messages when sending messages on a computer,” the support page says: “You can continue your conversation there or on the Messenger mobile app.”

If you use Messenger without a Facebook account, you can continue your conversations on the Messenger mobile app. Users can restore their chat history on any platform using the PIN they entered when they created a Messenger backup. If you don’t remember your PIN, you can reset it.

The move comes months later Meta has closed the standalone Messenger desktop apps for Windows and Mac. The writing was probably on the wall at the time, as Meta was directing desktop users who were on the Facebook site to continue using text messages, not the Messenger site.

This change was first noticed by a reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi. Meta is notifying users of this change via a pop-up message on the Messenger website and app.

Users have adopted social media that express their frustration and changes, and many say do not want to rely on the Facebook website to send and receive Messenger chats on the Internet, especially those who have deactivated their Facebook accounts.

While Meta’s decision to lock down various Messenger platforms is difficult for users, it allows the tech giant to cut costs by leaving it with fewer platforms to maintain.

Messenger was first launched as “Facebook Chat” in 2008, and Facebook (now Meta) launched Facebook Messenger as a standalone app in 2011. Over the years, the tech giant kept Messenger as its own service outside of Facebook, and in 2014, the social network removed messaging capabilities from its main mobile app to push people to the Messenger app. However, the company changed this in 2023 when it launched Connect Messenger back to the Facebook app.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.