How to Create Web Meta Messenger App on macOS

by Rian

With the recent announcement all desktop Meta Messenger app for Windows and macOS will be depreciated this coming December, I had to login to my Facebook account to see how the web interface has changed since forever. To be frank, I was never a heavy Facebook user. I liked it as another option amongst myriads of other messenger apps, but not as a platform. But it did sting I had to log into a website I rarely use.

One good news for macOS users — you don’t have to. Just like iOS Safari, you can create a web app on the dock of a website of your choice. It might sound obvious, as if it’s adding a shortcut or a bookmark to the website; however, one neat trick macOS pulls is that the web app UI is well incorporated enough so that it is nearly indistinguishable from a real app.

On Safari, go to the Messenger website. Press the share button (box with the up-pointing arrow), then choose “Add to Dock”.

The interface is nearly identical to the one on the web. I do notice some of the differences between what was on the desktop app, but none of them major. I believe it is always better to simply offer a web app, or even an Electron app, if the development for the certain platform is always lagging behind. I suppose with Messenger, it was the desktop apps; as it is often the case with many social apps that focus primarily on smartphones. Though I do wish they had done this from the get-go, but I take it is never too late.

note Nov 13, 2025: Facebook currently doesn’t use Safari’s web push, which means the badges for new message won’t update. If you leave it on in the background, it will make a sound like the web version does. I’ll update the post once I find an alternative solution for the push notification or if Facebook updates it. Until then, I would recommend keeping the mobile app around for the notifications.