Messenger chat plugin alternative

The Messenger bubble left.
Its code stayed behind.

Meta discontinued the Facebook Messenger Chat Plugin on 9 May 2024; the bubble no longer appears, though its code still loads on many sites. Meta kept m.me links, so the free, supported way to offer Messenger is a link or button that opens a conversation in Messenger itself. To chat with visitors on your own page, use a live chat widget; some, like Tidio, also pull your Page’s Messenger messages into the same inbox. Below: what Meta changed, a checker that finds the leftover code in your page source, how to remove it safely, an m.me link builder, and the chat options compared, Builderify Live Chat included.

Check my page What to use instead
Chat Plugin: gone since 9 May 2024 m.me links: still work Checked 11 Oct 2026

By the Builderify team

Illustration · Not Meta’s interface. The snippet is the standard install; details below.
01 / What happened

Is the Facebook chat plugin gone?
Yes, since 9 May 2024.

Meta told Page owners in Meta Business Suite, in a notice quoted on WordPress.org’s support forum, that the Chat Plugin was going away. Guest mode, which let visitors chat without logging in to Facebook, stopped first; on 9 May 2024 the rest followed. Meta named no replacement plugin.

Nothing on your site breaks visibly: the bubble just stops appearing. That is why the code lingers. Meta’s own WordPress plugin for the chat, last updated in July 2022, still showed more than 70,000 active installations on WordPress.org in October 2026.

Meta’s notice to Page owners

“Chat Plugin is going away soon.”

“On May 9, 2024, you will no longer be able to access any functionalities of Chat Plugin.”

“Effective immediately, Chat Plugin in guest mode is no longer available.”

“Other features like m.me links will still be available for you to use.”

As quoted from Meta Business Suite in the WordPress.org support forum. Meta’s developer docs still document m.me links.

Chat Plugin
Gone · Since 9 May 2024
m.me links
Kept · Open Messenger
Like and Comments plugins
Gone · Since 10 Feb 2026

Both are on the shutdown tracker, with the other website tools that went.

02 / Find the leftovers

Is the old Messenger chat code
still on your website?

Open your home page, choose View page source, copy everything and paste it into the checker. It looks for every piece of the chat install, Meta’s WordPress plugin, and the other Meta plugins that have since stopped too.

Not in the source? It may be added by

  • WordPress: the “Facebook Chat Plugin” by Meta under Plugins, or a theme’s footer scripts setting
  • Google Tag Manager: a Custom HTML tag holding the snippet
  • Shopify: theme.liquid, or an app that added Messenger
  • Wix or Squarespace: Custom Code or Code Injection settings
Messenger plugin checker Runs in your browser
Nothing you paste leaves this page
  • · class="fb-customerchat" The chat bubble’s container
  • · xfbml.customerchat.js The chat’s loader script
  • · FB.CustomerChat Code that opened or hid the chat
  • · attribution="setup_tool" The chat’s setup settings
  • · facebook-messenger-customer-chat Meta’s WordPress chat plugin
  • · class="fb-like" / "fb-comments" Like or Comments plugin, also discontinued
  • · connect.facebook.net/…/sdk.js Meta’s JavaScript SDK

The standard install, with the parts to remove marked

<!-- Messenger Chat Plugin Code -->
<div id="fb-root"></div>
<div id="fb-customer-chat" class="fb-customerchat"></div>
<script>
  var chatbox = document.getElementById('fb-customer-chat');
  chatbox.setAttribute("page_id", "123456789012345");
  chatbox.setAttribute("attribution", "biz_inbox");
  window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ xfbml: true, version: 'v18.0' }); };
  (function(d, s, id) { …
    js.src = 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk/xfbml.customerchat.js';
  }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));
</script>
03 / Remove it safely

How to remove the Messenger chat plugin
without breaking anything else.

The leftover code does nothing for visitors, but it still asks their browser to load Meta’s script on every page. One piece needs care: Meta’s general SDK, which other Facebook features on your page may still use.

  1. 01

    Put the replacement live first

    Add your m.me button or live chat before removing the old code, so there is never a page with no way to get in touch.

  2. 02

    Remove the chat pieces

    The fb-customerchat container, the script that loads xfbml.customerchat.js and any FB.CustomerChat calls.

  3. 03

    On WordPress, delete the plugin

    Deactivate and delete “Facebook Chat Plugin” by Meta under Plugins, rather than leaving it installed and inactive.

  4. 04

    Keep the SDK only if it is still used

    If the page also has a Page Plugin, Share button or embedded post, those load sdk.js too: leave it. If the chat was its only use, remove it, and the fb-root div with it.

  5. 05

    Clear caches and check again

    Purge your caching plugin or CDN, view the source of a page in a private window, and run the checker once more.

  6. 06

    Tell people where the chat went

    If customers were used to messaging from the site, say on your contact page how to reach you now.

04 / What to use instead

The best Messenger chat plugin alternative
depends on where you want to talk.

  1. 01
    Free, supported by Meta

    An m.me link or button

    Opens a conversation with your Page in Messenger. Visitors leave your site to talk, and need Messenger to use it.

    Closest to what you had, for people who already use Messenger.

  2. 02
    Free to paid

    Live chat that connects Messenger

    A chat widget on your site whose inbox also receives your Page’s Messenger messages. Tidio says its free plan connects a Facebook Page.

    One inbox for site chats and Messenger.

  3. 03
    Free to paid

    Live chat on your page

    A chat bubble on every page, answered from the chat tool’s dashboard. Visitors don’t need a Facebook account at all.

    What guest mode used to give you, and more.

Make an m.me link and button

Meta documents m.me links as m.me/PAGE-NAME, with an optional ref value that tells you where a conversation started. Type your Page’s username, or paste its facebook.com address.

Your link
https://m.me/yourpage?ref=website
Button HTML 
<a href="https://m.me/yourpage?ref=website" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Message us on Messenger</a>
Looks like Message us on Messenger
Free live chat to put on the page, from each tool’s pricing page
Tool People free Chats free Messenger in the same inbox
tawk.to Unlimited Unlimited Not checked
Tidio 10 50 a month Yes, on the free plan, by Tidio’s account
Crisp 2 Not stated Not checked
Zoho SalesIQ 3 100 a month Not checked
Builderify You; teammates once each 1 credit each, from 250 free credits a month No; add an m.me link beside the chat

Free limits from each pricing page on 3 October 2026; the full comparison is in the free live chat plans guide. “Not checked” means we have not confirmed a Messenger connection on that tool’s own pages.

05 / With Builderify

Chat on your page,
Messenger one tap away.

Builderify Live Chat is a block in the floating widget that one script tag adds to every page. Visitors chat without any account, which is what guest mode used to offer, and a link block in the same widget can hold your m.me link for people who would rather use Messenger.

Each new conversation is 1 credit, messages are free, and the widget’s page loads are 10 credits per 1,000, all from 250 free credits a month; packs from $9, once, if you outgrow them.

What it does

  • Real-time chat with no login for the visitor
  • Conversations resume where the visitor left off
  • The page each chat started on
  • Hides itself when nobody is online, if you choose
  • An optional name-and-email form that adds the visitor to a lead list
  • Telegram alerts for new chats and messages

Not yet

  • Messenger messages in the same inbox
  • A mobile app or email alerts; you are online while the dashboard is open
  • Canned replies, assignment or attachments

If Messenger in one inbox matters most, Tidio says its free plan does that. The widget shows “Powered by Builderify”.

On Squarespace? The Squarespace live chat guide covers which plans can run a chat script. For questions you answer every day, an AI chatbot can sit in the same widget.

Questions

The Messenger chat plugin, before you ask.

Yes. Meta told Page owners that from 9 May 2024 they would no longer be able to access any functionalities of the Chat Plugin, and switched off its guest mode before that. The bubble no longer appears, though the old code still loads on many sites.

Meta named no replacement plugin. Its notice said m.me links would still be available, so the supported way to offer Messenger is a link or button to m.me/your-page-name, which opens the conversation in Messenger. For chat on the page itself, use a live chat widget.

Remove the fb-customerchat container, the script that loads xfbml.customerchat.js and any FB.CustomerChat calls; on WordPress, deactivate and delete the Facebook Chat Plugin by Meta. Keep Meta's sdk.js only if something else on the page, such as a Page Plugin or Share button, still uses it. Put your replacement live first.

Yes, as a link. Meta documents m.me links in the form m.me/PAGE-NAME, with an optional ref value that tells you where the conversation started. Some live chat tools also connect your Page's Messenger inbox; Tidio says its free plan does.

Several. tawk.to is free for unlimited agents and chats, Tidio's free plan allows 50 chats a month, and Builderify Live Chat charges 1 credit per new conversation from 250 free credits a month, with no login needed for visitors. Builderify does not bring Messenger messages into its inbox, so add an m.me link beside it.

Sources

Read on 11 October 2026.

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On the shutdown tracker: Facebook Messenger Chat Plugin.

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