Facebook Messenger is coming to the Mac (and Windows) later this year. The company is set to announce the new app at its F8 conference at 1 PM ET, but tipped the hat slightly early thanks to a blog post published too soon. iGeneration first spotted the (now-removed) announcement.

There isn’t much to go on right now apart from one screenshot of the Windows version of the app, which if you squint looks an awful lot like the Skype desktop app.

Macos Desktop Client For Fb Messenger Account

Facebook Messenger for Mac will offer the same feature set as the mobile version, including group video chat. From the blog post:

We’re also launching a desktop app for Messenger that’s available for both Windows and MacOS. People want to seamlessly message from any device, and sometimes they just want a little more space to share and connect with the people they care about most. You can download Messenger Desktop — and enjoy the same features as the app on your phone — like group video calls, collaborate on projects or multi-task while chatting in Messenger. We are testing this now and will roll it out globally later this year.

Facebook will unveil the new Messenger Mac and Windows apps as part of a wider announcement of new Messenger features. Facebook is currently undergoing a transition to make all of its messaging services across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp integrated and end-to-end encrypted. This work is set to be completed in 2020.

Mar 05, 2020  Facebook first teased its new Messenger app for macOS (and Windows) almost a year ago during its F8 conference. It promised at the time that it would debut by the end of last year, but of course. Apr 15, 2015  After releasing web versions for both Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, the only thing missing is a completely independent desktop client like the one developed for Telegram. In the meantime, you can fill that slot with the launch of Messenger for Desktop, an unofficial desktop client to use Facebook chat on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

In the nearer term, the company is announcing updates to Facebook Messenger for iOS including faster performance, dramatically smaller file size, and new features like a virtual lounge where several people can watch the same video together.

We’ll have more coverage when Facebook’s conference, F8, kicks off officially in a few hours.

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Facebook this week has quietly launched a new desktop Mac application with built-in screen sharing and chat. As first discovered by TechCrunch, this app is targeted at Workplace users right now as it focuses on building a suite of services competing with the likes of Slack…

The app allows Workplace users to access Work Chat directly on their desktop and share files and their desktop screen with another user. It’s a lot like the Workplace Chat website, providing easy access to conversations, search, and more.

For instance, when sharing your screen, you can choose to share either your entire desktop or only a specific application, such as Excel or PowerPoint. This ensures that you won’t accidentally broadcast something private, such as other conversations or sensitive information.

Many avid Messenger users have long called on Facebook to release a dedicated Messenger client for Mac, and this seems to be the first step in that direction. Speaking to TechCrunch, a Facebook spokesperson explained that the desktop app is currently being “tested” by Workplace users, implying that a broader rollout could be on the horizon:

Macos Desktop Client For Fb Messenger App

“This was one of the most widely requested features by customers, so we built it. The desktop app is still in beta and being tested by Workplace customers who are providing feedback that we’ll use to improve the product before a wider rollout,” Facebook’s Vanessa Chan explained.

Facebook has largely focused on mobile applications for Messenger thus far and we’ve covered a few third-party solutions for accessing the messaging platform directly from your Mac, but nothing has blown us away.

Macos Desktop Client For Fb Messenger App

Whether or not Facebook actually expands its desktop client beyond Workplace users remains to be seen, but doing so would certainly help turn Messenger into a more viable alternative to Apple’s Messages platform.

Would you be interested in a dedicated Messenger app for macOS? Let us know down in the comments.

Macos Desktop Client For Fb Messenger Pc

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