If you’re one of 1.55 billion Facebook users in the world, you have probably heard of the Messenger app by now. And chances are, you have accessed the app using a Mac at one point or another. According to a report from Tech Crunch, eyewitness reports and photographic evidence have confirmed that the company is waiting to release a brand-new Facebook Messenger for Mac desktop app.

But what’s the point of the new app if Messenger is already accessible through the web? For one, the app will allow users to communicate with their Facebook friends without having to deal with the distraction of a constantly-updated news feed. The message list will be clear and easy to navigate without the clutter of baby pictures and status updates from distant acquaintances. The Messenger app icon would sit neatly in the Mac’s dock like any other program would.

Facebook has declined to confirm the existence of the app, but a photo obtained by TechCrunch reportedly shows a Facebook employee using the new app. The company responded to a request for comment, “We don’t comment on rumor or speculation.”

With its staggering user base, Messenger stands to emerge on the forefront of communications technologies moving forward. By making a user-friendly messaging service that people will want to interact with, Facebook hopes to lock users into continuing to use their other services, including the News Feed which provides the company with crucial ad revenue.

The move echoes a recent decision to separate Messenger from Facebook’s mobile app, and could very well mean the demise of other up-and-coming chat services.

In 2011, Facebook began hiring developers to work on various PC and Mac applications. After an unexpected leak, the company rolled out a Facebook Messenger for Windows app in 2012. After two years of living in relative obscurity, Facebook shut down the Windows messenger app. “We’re sorry, but we can no longer support Facebook Messenger for Windows, and it will stop working on March 3, 2014,” the company wrote.

That was the last time Facebook rolled out a piece of desktop software, but speculation about the fate of the Messenger app means that it might not be this way for long.

The demand for a dedicated Messenger application has been high, and hackers have built various unofficial versions over the course of the past few years, including FBMacMessenger and Messenger for Desktop.

It is likely that Facebook will still keep the option to use Messenger on a web browser in addition to rolling out the new desktop app. Building off the success of other dedicated messaging services like Slack, the new Messenger desktop app could be poised to convert millions of users into fans.

It remains unclear when the new Messenger desktop app will roll out, but geeks and social butterflies alike are growing increasingly excited for its arrival.