Wondering how to use Signal on your laptop or PC? If you have a Signal account, the popular messaging app lets you sync your account between your phone and your laptop or PC in a few easy steps. Signal is increasingly popular as an alternative to instant messaging for WhatsApp. Allows you to send and receive text messages, and make and receive voice and video calls. It has also attracted attention for the enhanced security that comes from the Open Source Signal Protocol. Signal also offers privacy features such as disappearing messages, screen saver and registry lock.
All these features complete Signal against WhatsApp and Telegram. Signal basically claims that all messages you open on your laptop or PC are private.
Just like for WhatsApp, you must have the Signal app on your phone (Android or iPhone). But using Signal on a laptop or PC is different from using WhatsApp Web. Signal does not have a web client and is limited to a desktop application. This means that you cannot access your messages on Signal via a web browser. You need to download and install the native application on your laptop or PC. The Signal desktop application is available for Windows, macOS and Linux platforms. Requires a minimum of 64-bit Windows 7, macOS 10.10 or APT compatible 64-bit Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu or Debian. These are the steps to follow to use Signal on your laptop or PC.
Use signal on your laptop or PC
You can follow the steps below to use Signal on your laptop or PC. As mentioned above, it can be Windows machine or MacBook or Linux computer.
- Download Signal Desktop from their site.
- Install the downloaded Signal desktop on your computer. You can follow the instructions in the installation file to download the application on your Windows laptop or PC. If it’s running on macOS, you need to move Signal to your Applications folder. Linux users should follow the on-screen instructions to configure the Signal repository and install the package.
- Once installed, pair Signal Desktop with your phone by scanning the QR code on your laptop or PC screen. To scan the QR code, go to Signal Settings> tap Paired devices, then tap the plus sign (+) on your Android phone or Pair a new device on iPhone.
- Now you can choose a name for your paired device on your phone.
- Press the Finish button.
Once the steps above have been followed, your Signal account will be synced between your phone and your laptop or PC. You start to receive messages in the Signal desktop app. You can also send messages via Signal, without having to reach for your phone.
