iWorld
Meta shutters standalone Messenger website from April 2026
Desktop chats redirect to facebook.com/messages, mobile app remains unaffected for web-independent users.
MUMBAI: Messenger’s web independence is signing off proving that even in the digital age, some chats just can’t escape the Facebook family reunion. Meta has confirmed it will pull the plug on messenger.com as a standalone site starting April 2026, automatically redirecting desktop visitors to facebook.com/messages to keep conversations flowing. The update, posted on the company’s help pages and first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, comes with pop-up notifications on both the Messenger site and app.
The change follows Meta’s earlier retirement of the dedicated Messenger desktop apps for Windows and Mac, which already funnelled users to Facebook’s web interface. For those who’ve deactivated their Facebook accounts but still use Messenger via browser, the move shrinks options further leaving only the mobile app as a lifeline. Chat history stays safe through the secure backup PIN process (with a reset option if forgotten), but web access without a Facebook login is effectively over.
This is the latest twist in Messenger’s long identity crisis. Born as Facebook Chat in 2008, it spun off into a standalone app in 2011 and got fully separated from the main Facebook mobile app in 2014 to boost its own adoption. Yet the pendulum has swung back, since 2023, Facebook has been quietly reintegrating Messenger features into its core platform, slowly dissolving the walls between the two.
Meta frames the shift as a streamlining move consolidating messaging under one roof to simplify infrastructure and user experience. But for the corner of users who preferred Messenger’s lighter, less Facebook-tied web version, it’s a step that feels more like consolidation than convenience.
Whether you’re a die-hard desktop chatter or just someone who logs in occasionally, the message is clear: in Meta’s world, going solo online is becoming a relic. From April 2026, if you’re on a computer, expect the redirect and perhaps a gentle nudge back toward the full Facebook fold.
iWorld
Jio IPO faces delay as India yet to clear listing rule changes
Proposed rule change allows mega IPOs to float just 2.5 per cent
MUMBAI: The Indian government’s delay in formalising changes to listing rules may derail the targeted timeline for the initial public offering (IPO) of Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
According to media reports, Reliance is awaiting formal notification of regulatory amendments before appointing investment bankers and filing a draft IPO prospectus. The company is now aiming to submit the draft prospectus before April, depending on when the government issues the notification.
Jio, which owns India’s largest wireless operator, is widely seen as one of the crown jewels of Ambani’s business empire. Its listing, the first public offering of a major Reliance unit in nearly two decades, could become the country’s biggest ever IPO.
Investment bankers have proposed a valuation of as much as $170 billion for the company. Even the minimum stake sale could raise roughly $4.3 billion, potentially placing Jio among India’s most valuable listed companies.
Ambani had earlier said that Reliance was targeting a listing of Jio in the first half of 2026, a plan first outlined in 2019 with a five-year timeline. In 2020, global technology groups Meta Platforms and Alphabet invested more than $10 billion combined in the company.
The delay stems from pending regulatory changes approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India in September. The amendments allow companies with a post-issue market capitalisation exceeding Rs 5 trillion (about $55 billion) to float as little as 2.5 per cent of equity in an IPO, compared with the current 5 per cent minimum.
Such changes are expected to enable mega listings, including potential offerings by Jio and the National Stock Exchange of India. However, the reforms still require formal notification from the government.
Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange is moving ahead with plans to raise as much as $2.5 billion through its own IPO and has recently invited banks to pitch for roles in the offering.
