Signal has emerged as a pictorial token of a mass checkout to challenge WhatsApp’s new privacy policy. The messaging app is among the best known as a safe alternative that protects the data and privacy of its users. After the crazy rise in popularity in 2021, its community now wants to find all the elements that make a good messaging app. For example, accessing on a computer.
Signal is available on desktop, Mac, Windows and Linux devices. Few users are aware of this, and many would be happy to be able to use Signal without having to use them on their smartphones. To access Signal on your computer, the process is quick and easy. Signal offers the same service as WhatsApp, but it is not web access. Signal must be downloaded on macOS or Windows.
To be able to send messages and make calls using Signal on a computer, Here is a tutorial. You will find out how to install Signal on your desktop, and explain how it works and its security.
How to use Signal on a computer
We must distinguish between two possible arrivals of a mobile application on a computer. WhatsApp, for its part, allows you to access from its website, thus it does not require you to download any application from your computer. On the Signal side, there is no ‘Signal web’ access per se. To access Signal on a computer, You will need to download the Signal desktop app.
© Signal
It couldn’t be easier than that. Go to Signal. Here you will find the “Get Signal” button in the banner menu.
© Lemon Squeezer
By clicking on it, Signal has simplified its interface since January 2021 and it has become much easier to understand how to download Signal Desktop. Messages allow you to click directly to download Signal for Mac, Signal for Windows, or Signal for Linux.
© Lemon Squeezer
The respective button automatically starts downloading the application. Signal’s desktop, on either Mac or Windows, is just over 100MB.
© Lemon Squeezer
When the download completes, click on the file to start the installation on your computer. Finally, click on the application. Now all you have to do is scan the QR code using your smartphone to authenticate your personal account linked to your phone number.
Installation and usage procedure Computer signal :
- Open a web browser and search for the site Signal.org
- Click on the “Get a hint” tab
- Choose “Computer Signal” for Mac, Windows, or Linux
- Wait for the exe file to finish downloading
- Click it to initialize the installation
- Scan the QR code from your smartphone
Security and confidentiality
Signal wants to reassure its users, and its way of protecting data is the same as on computers. Messages are end-to-end encrypted and your data is not stored on servers nor tied to your identity. So much so, that Edward Snowden and Elon Musk highly recommend using this service.
Now, Mail takes two initiatives to protect your computer account. The first concerns single access via a QR code, to be scanned with your smartphone. To do this, go to the mobile messaging app. At the top right, in the menu that is checked by the three vertical dots, click Settings. Then, in the menu, go to “Associated Devices”. Then just click on the add button and you can scan the code.
This technology allows you to quickly authenticate your account. Can’t log in otherwise, which increases security against malicious intruders. Once connected, Signal adds another privacy lever: you will not be able to sync your previous messages and call history sent from your smartphone.
© Lemon Squeezer
Finally, in Signal’s computer settings, you will be able to delete all data with a simple procedure. By scrolling through the configuration menu for your account, the big red button at the bottom of the page, “Delete data” will allow you to reset your account and leave no trace. The signal determines that “All data in the application, including all messages and saved account information, will be deleted.”
© Lemon Squeezer
Signal messages and calls on the computer
Let’s end with a quick overview of messages and calls on Signal, from a computer. The updated application interface is the same as on the mobile phone. Thus, the messages are displayed in the form of a conversation, where the colors and the background can be customized.
© Lemon Squeezer
To make a call, click the button that represents the phone or camera, to the right of the name of the contact or group you want to call. On first use, Signal asks you to grant permissions to access the camera and computer microphone. As in Zoom, before the call is activated, you can decide to activate the camera or not, to make a simple call or in a videoconference.
