Meta shut down the Messenger desktop apps for macOS and Windows in December 2025, and for many people that was not just a minor inconvenience. If Messenger is part of your daily workflow, client communication, or community management, losing the dedicated desktop app means one thing: you are back to the browser, and back to distraction.

The good news is that on Mac you can rebuild the “native app” experience in a cleaner way than most people realize. Safari has a quiet feature that turns a website into a standalone app-like window. No address bar, no tabs, no bookmarks bar. Just Messenger, in its own space.

In this guide, I’ll show you the setup in 4 steps, and then share a few small workflow tips to make it feel like a proper business-ready solution.

1) What changed with Messenger desktop

Meta discontinued the standalone Messenger desktop apps, pushing users back to Messenger in the browser. If you used the desktop app as your default, the biggest downsides are usually:

• More distractions (tabs, notifications, unrelated browsing)

• Slower switching between work tools

• Higher chance of missing messages because everything is “somewhere in the browser”

For a business, that can translate into slower response times and inconsistent customer experience. So even though this is a “small tech change”, it affects real operations.

2) The fastest Mac alternative: Safari Add to Dock

Safari can create a standalone web app from almost any website. This is ideal for Messenger, YouTube, Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, CRMs, and many other tools.

It behaves like a separate app:

• It opens in its own window

• It sits in your Dock

• You can launch it with one click

• It keeps your workflow focused

Note: This feature depends on your macOS version (Safari web apps are supported on newer macOS releases).

3) Messenger on Mac in 4 steps (Safari Add to Dock)

Step 1: Open Messenger in Safari

Open Safari and go to the Messenger website.

Step 2: Click File in the top menu

In Safari’s menu bar, click File.

Step 3: Choose “Add to Dock”

From the File menu, select Add to Dock.

Step 4: Name it and confirm

Give it a name like Messenger and click Add. Done.

Now Messenger opens in its own dedicated window like a native app, without the usual browser clutter.

4) Pro tips: make Messenger feel like a real work tool

If you want this to be more than a workaround, these small changes make a big difference.

Pin Messenger to your Dock

Treat it like Slack or Teams. Consistency matters when you use it daily.

Use Focus modes (Work vs Personal)

If Messenger notifications compete with other apps, Focus modes help you control when and how you get interrupted.

Separate tools into separate windows

A simple “stack” that many teams use:

• Messenger (communication)

• Calendar (planning)

• Notion or CRM (tasks and notes)

• Email (formal follow-ups)

This reduces context switching and makes your day less chaotic.

5) What about Windows?

Safari “Add to Dock” is Mac-only. On Windows, you can create a similar standalone app experience using:

• Google Chrome: Install site as app

• Microsoft Edge: Install this site as an app

It’s the same idea: website opens in its own window, pinned to the taskbar, separate from normal browsing.

6) Bonus: business communication hygiene (quick but important)

Whenever a platform removes a desktop app, it’s a reminder to keep your communication workflow resilient:

• Document your “official” support channel for clients

• Make sure more than one person can access business inboxes (if relevant)

• Consider routing high-volume inquiries into a CRM or helpdesk if Messenger becomes a bottleneck

Messenger is fine for many brands, but your process should not depend on one tool behaving the same forever.

Credits (because good tips deserve a spotlight)

This trick was shown to me by Patryk, a longtime friend and unofficial tech advisor. I owe you a coffee.

And yes, the person on the screenshot is my wife Karolina, who runs LikeSweden and entertains and educates thousands in English about what life in Sweden is actually like.

Apple Support (Add websites to Dock / web apps in Safari): https://support.apple.com/en-gb/104996

Messenger desktop app shutdown (news confirmation): https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/15/facebook-messengers-desktop-app-is-no-more/