Meta is shutting down Messenger’s standalone desktop apps for Windows and Mac on December 15, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Thursday.

Starting December 15, users will no longer be able to log into the apps and will be automatically redirected to the Facebook website to access Messenger.

“If you’re using the Messenger desktop apps, you’ll get an in-app notification once the deprecation process begins,” a Messenger help page reads. “You will have 60 days to use the Mac Messenger app before it is fully deprecated. Once the 60 days are over, you’ll be blocked from using the Mac Messenger app. We encourage you to delete the app since it will no longer be usable.”

Meta’s plan to wind down these desktop apps was first spotted by Appleinsider.

The company is now alerting users of the upcoming change to give them time to familiarize themselves with other options. For example, Windows users can use the Facebook desktop app, and both Windows and Mac users can access Messenger online.

Meta is encouraging users to activate secure storage and to set up a PIN to save their chat history before moving to the web version. Once users transition to Facebook.com, their chat history will be available on all platforms. Users can check if they have secure storage turned on by clicking the settings icon above their profile picture and then selecting “Privacy & safety, and then clicking “End-to-end encrypted chats.” From there, they need to click “Message storage” to check if “Turn on secure storage” is turned on.

The move comes a year after Meta replaced the native Messenger app with a Progressive Web App back in September 2024. Of course, Meta’s decision to discontinue the desktop apps altogether will likely see some backlash from avid users of the apps.

TechCrunch

Instagram is launching its own awards program, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This is sort of like the Oscars, but for short-form social media content. There isn't an awards ceremony, a comedian host or anything like that. Instead, the 25 winners will get physical rings.

These rings will be designed by fashionista Grace Wales Bonner. Maybe they'll be worth a few bucks, as the recognition doesn't include a financial payout of any kind. However, winners will get a digital replica of a ring to put on their Instagram profile and stories.

Honorees also receive the ability to customize the background color of their profiles, creating a unique gradient. Eva Chen, the head of fashion partnerships at Instagram, says this kind of customization is "something that we haven’t really ever done before." Myspace let people do this more than 20 years ago and Friendster before that.

Instagram has three billion monthly active users and there are only 25 recipients of the aforementioned ring. Judges will whittle down the list down to thousands and then hundreds before settling on the winners. These judges include platform head honcho Adam Mosseri, along with folks like Spike Lee and actress Yari Shahidi.

There are no official categories like with other awards, but the winners will be chosen from across different topics and interest groups. “The criteria was really tough,” Chen says. “But really, we were looking for people who take creative chances and who are always pushing the envelope and thinking about new ways to talk to their audience.”

Instagram hopes this will become a regular thing, just like those other awards. "We’d love to see how it’s received and how the winners enjoy the literal Instagram spotlight,” Chen says. Winners will be announced on October 16.

Engadget

As of January 1 2026, Steam will stop supporting systems running 32-bit versions of Windows. Windows 10 32-bit is the only 32-bit version that is currently supported by Steam and is only in use on 0.01% of systems reported through the Steam Hardware Survey. Windows 10 64-bit will still be supported and 32-bit games will still run.

Existing Steam Client installations will continue to function for the near term on Windows 10 32-bit but will no longer receive updates of any kind including security updates. Steam Support will be unable to offer users technical support for issues related to the old operating systems, and Steam will be unable to guarantee continued functionality of Steam on the unsupported operating system versions.

To ensure continued updates and compatibility, users should update to a 64-bit version of Windows.

This change is required as core features in Steam rely on system drivers and other libraries that are not supported on 32-bit versions of Windows. Future versions of Steam will run on 64-bit versions of Windows only. We strongly encourage all 32-bit Windows users to update sooner rather than later.

Steam

Microsoft is improving protection against malicious files and links in Microsoft Teams, a problem that has been growing lately. According to a Microsoft 365 Message Center alert, users will start receiving warnings when they send or receive messages classified as malicious.

In addition, messages in chats and channels that contain EXE files will be blocked altogether since EXE files are a common vector for malware. Thanks to enhanced integration with Microsoft Defender, all communication from blocked domains will also be disallowed.

“To help users stay protected from malicious content, we’re introducing message warnings in Microsoft Teams,” says the alert. “This new feature displays a warning banner on messages containing URLs flagged as Spam, Phish, or Malware—whether the message is internal or external. These warnings enhance user awareness and complement existing security protections like Safe Links and ZAP.” See the official support page to learn more about how link protection works in Teams.

The rollout of this new Microsoft Teams security feature will begin with a public preview later in September and is expected to reach general availability by November. It will be available to Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (MDO) customers and Microsoft Teams enterprise customers.

PCWorld

Microsoft is making a big change to how Word for Windows saves documents. The word processing app will soon automatically save new documents to the cloud, instead of Word users having to enable AutoSave and cloud storage options.

“We are modernizing the way files are created and stored in Word for Windows,” says Raul Munoz, a product manager on the Office shared services and experiences team at Microsoft. “Now you don’t have to worry about saving your documents: Anything new you create will be saved automatically to OneDrive or your preferred cloud destination.”

The change to Word for Windows is being tested with Microsoft 365 Insiders, and the software maker says the change will mean you never have to worry about losing any work and that documents can be accessed across Android and iOS devices or in a web browser.

New documents will be saved with a date instead of the existing format that adds a number to the end of a document file name. You’ll be able to change where new documents are created by setting default cloud locations, and you can also disable the option to create new files in the cloud automatically.

Microsoft has been increasingly pushing Word users to save documents to the cloud, with the AutoSave function that stores documents in the cloud by default. The software maker has also been using nag screens in Windows to convince people to enable OneDrive backup settings, which have proved unpopular with Windows users.

This latest option to create new files in the cloud automatically adds yet another step to saving files locally if you don’t use OneDrive or other cloud storage. Some Word users have already made their feelings clear about Microsoft’s fresh attempt to get more Windows users to use OneDrive in the comment section of Microsoft’s blog post. “It seems that every few years Microsoft adds yet another step that users have to jump through to get to their files,” said one poster. “It used to be very simple with the C drive being prominently displayed.”

The Verge

A Windows 10 user is suing Microsoft over the upcoming end of official security updates for the operating system. Lawrence Klein, who owns two Windows 10 laptops that don't support Windows 11, says Microsoft is forcing customers to buy newer devices.

The lawsuit notes that Microsoft is ending Windows 10 support despite a huge number of people still using the older OS. July stats from Statcounter show that 53.39% of worldwide desktop users are on Windows 11, but 43% still use Windows 10. Though Windows 11 launched in 2021, the newer OS only overtook Windows 10 last month.

Klein says an estimated 240 million computers are unable to run the Windows 11 upgrade. He says Microsoft's move is designed to make people buy new hardware and embrace AI tech.

The lawsuit reads, “Microsoft’s decision to discontinue support for Windows 10 while most of its consumer base was still using it was part of the company’s larger strategy to force its customers to purchase new devices optimized to run Microsoft’s suite of generative artificial intelligence (AI) software such as Copilot, which comes bundled with Windows 11 by default.”

Microsoft recently opened its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. It allows users to spend $30 to get an extra year of security-only updates, taking them to October 2026. If a customer doesn’t want to pay, they can opt to sync their Windows Backup directly to OneDrive and get access for a year, or they can spend Microsoft Reward program points to purchase a year of updates.

Klein says Microsoft should have offered this to its customers for free, and says it should remain an option until Windows 10 becomes less popular. “Neither Microsoft nor its original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) disclosed to customers the potential additional costs or the consequences of Microsoft’s decision to end support for all operating system versions compatible with the device," the lawsuit says.

Klein also wants Microsoft to stop this practice for future versions of its Windows software. He says Microsoft should provide “clear disclosures to consumers purchasing a Windows OS license" on how long the software is set to last at the point of purchase.

There isn't much precedent for this, but the situation is slowly changing. In recent years, many Android manufacturers have started telling customers how many years of software updates they'll see at a minimum.

PC Magazine