Signal is not able to send SMS text messages or iMessages, or use any other messaging protocol for that matter, it can only communicate with other Signal users, as any other messaging service would break the end-to-end encryption which is one of the benefits of using Signal in the first place. Of course Signal is only useful if you have other people that are using it too, so if you like the idea of an encrypted messaging app for private or secure communications, then you’ll want to be sure you have colleagues, friends, family, or anyone else also sign up to use the Signal service.

Now you’re ready to use Signal on the Mac! Or a Windows PC, or whatever else you set it up on.

Once the QR code is recognized and the connection is confirmed, give the Mac an identifiable name, and that’s it.

Select “Link New Device – Scan QR Code” and point the phones camera at the QR code on the Mac screen.

Open Signal on the iPhone or Android, then tap on Settings (it’s the gear icon in the corner).

Upon launching Signal, you’ll see a QR code, now you must go back to your iPhone or Android to complete setup.

Install Signal by dragging the Signal.app file into your /Applications folder, then launch the Signal app **.

Next, download the Signal client for Mac.

First, get Signal for iPhone or Android and set it up on your phone, it requires a phone number that can be verified and this is not optional *.

This will walk through setting up Signal messenger on the Mac, but the setup process is basically exactly the same for Windows PC and Linux as well, so if you want to set up the messaging client on another platform you don’t need to change much. Of course you’ll need internet access on those devices too. To get started you will need Signal setup on iPhone or Android with a valid and active cell phone number, the Signal client for that cell phone, and the Signal client for the desktop.

If you’re on a Mac, or Windows PC, and you want to setup Signal on your computer to communicate with other Signal users, the walkthrough below will detail the process.

Signal private messenger for mac