Meta is shutting down Messenger's standalone website | TechCrunch

TechCrunch

by Aisha Malik

February 19, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

Meta has announced the closure of its standalone Messenger website, a move that aligns with its broader strategy to consolidate messaging services under Facebook. Starting in April 2026, users will no longer be able to access Messenger via messenger.com and will instead be redirected to Facebook’s messaging platform or the Messenger mobile app. This decision follows Meta’s earlier shutdown of its standalone desktop apps for Windows and Mac in late 2025, which had already shifted users toward using Facebook for desktop messaging. The transition is part of a larger effort by Meta to streamline its messaging services and reduce operational costs. By integrating Messenger more deeply with Facebook, the company aims to create a unified platform for communication. Users without a Facebook account will still be able to access Messenger through its mobile app, though they won’t have the option to use the website. Additionally, chat history can be restored using a backup PIN, providing some continuity for those concerned about losing their messages. While this change may seem inconvenient for users who prefer the standalone Messenger experience, it reflects Meta’s long-term vision of merging its messaging services into Facebook. This shift began in 2014 when Facebook removed messaging features from its main app to promote Messenger as a separate platform, but by 2023, the company had reversed course, bringing messaging back into Facebook. The latest move is another step in this process, with Meta focusing on reducing the number of platforms it maintains. For users who rely on Messenger for web-based communication, especially those without active Facebook accounts, the change has been met with frustration. Many argue that relying on Facebook for messaging compromises their privacy or forces them to re-

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Originally published on TechCrunch on 2/19/2026