Dev Build 25284 injects Messenger into the Windows 11 widget collection

An exciting change is coming to the widget panel Windows 11 Insiders this week with the arrival of the new messenger Widget preview.

On Wednesday, Microsoft announced the release of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25284 to Dev channel. The release contains only a small set of fixes and is not available for Arm64 devices due to an issue causing devices to freeze at the OS boot logo. However, it makes another improvement to the widget panel for Windows 11 Insiders by introducing a new widget for Messenger.

For those familiar with the Messenger widget, the corresponding communication app must be updated to the latest version via the Microsoft Store. Insiders with Build 25284 can then install the Messenger widget by clicking Add or the plus sign (+) in the upper right corner of the panel.

Although the optimization may seem less advanced to some, it may be good news for those who still want to see third-party widgets on the Windows Widgets panel. In previous build releases, all Insiders received were frequent changes to the functionality of the system widget. With this said, it is surprising that Microsoft is now introducing a third-party app in its widget matrix, which may indicate that the company will adopt more third-party apps into its operating system in the future.

On the other hand, while the third-party Messenger is a welcome addition to the Windows toolkit, Microsoft said Insiders may have issues with it, since it’s in the early stages of testing. Some of these issues include occasional panel disappearance or uninstallation.

Here’s the changelog for build 25284, detailing known issues and fixes Insiders will receive.