The encrypted messaging app Signal is now available for desktops – Signal Desktop will only be used for sending messages going forward.
The desktop version of the Signal encrypted messaging app is now available in beta and will run through the Google Chrome browser.
Signal Desktop is a Chrome app that will sync messages sent between it and an Android device, writes Moxie Marlinspike, an encryption expert who helped create Signal, in a blog post.
The app comes from Open Whisper Systems, which developed Signal's predecessors, Redphone and TextSecure, which are two Android applications that encrypt calls and messages. Both have now been integrated into Signal.
Signal Desktop is not yet able to sync messages with iPhones, although there is a plan to make it compatible with iOS as well, as Marlinspike reports.
Signal, which is available for free, has stood out from the crowd of notoriously difficult-to-build encrypted messaging apps, and has been endorsed by Edward Snowden.
The mobile version of Signal for both iPhone and Android users uses end-to-end encryption for voice calls, text messages, and image sending.
If you simply open Open Whisper Systems you will not be able to view plain text messages or access voice calls unless you have saved the encryption keys.
