Signal 8.28.0 for Windows

Signal 8.28.0 for Windows is the desktop app of the privacy-focused encrypted messenger from the Signal Foundation. It is free to download from signal.org and works together with Signal on your phone, so you can read and send messages from your PC.

Overview

Signal launched on 29 July 2014 and has become the messenger people recommend when privacy matters most. Messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted, which means only the people in the conversation can read them, not even the service that carries them. The Signal Foundation is a non-profit, the app shows no ads, and the code is open source under the GNU Affero General Public License 3.0, so anyone can check how it works. Signal Desktop is not a standalone account: it links to the app on your phone, and after linking your conversations appear on the computer and stay in sync. That setup keeps the phone as the key to the account while giving you a full keyboard and a big screen for long chats, group planning or sending files from the PC. Updates arrive often; the current version 8.28.0 was released on 23 September 2026.

System requirements

The download is about 254.92 MB according to catalogue data. See the official installation guide for details.

How to install and link

1. Make sure Signal is set up on your phone.
2. Download the Windows installer from signal.org/download and run it.
3. Signal Desktop shows a QR code. On the phone, open Settings, then Linked devices, and scan it.
4. Give the computer a name so you can recognise it later in the list of linked devices.

Safety

Signal is safe when downloaded from signal.org. Fake installers do circulate, so do not take the program from other sites. Lock your Windows account with a password, because anyone who can open the PC can open the linked app. If you stop using a computer, unlink it from the phone.

Tips for daily use

Mute busy group chats instead of leaving them, turn off message previews in Windows notifications if other people can see your screen, and keep the desktop app open in the background so messages arrive without delay. When you get a new phone, move your account first and relink the desktop afterwards.

Price

Free, with no ads or subscriptions. Signal is funded by donations.

Pros and cons

• Pro: strong end-to-end encryption by default.
• Pro: open source and non-profit.
• Pro: chats sync with the phone.
• Con: needs a phone to set up.
• Con: fewer contacts use it than the big messengers.

Alternatives

Other desktop messengers in our listings include Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber. The source code of Signal Desktop is on GitHub.