Signal Desktop + Voice Transcription

A custom build of Signal Desktop that automatically transcribes voice messages — using ElevenLabs (cloud) or Whisper (fully local, offline).

⬇ Download for Mac (Apple Silicon)

signal-desktop-transcribe-arm64.dmg · ~158 MB · macOS on M1/M2/M3/M4

Heads up: this build is unsigned (no Apple developer certificate) and shares its profile with the official Signal Desktop app — it will take over the "Signal" profile on your machine if you already use Signal Desktop. Your messages stay intact.

Install

  1. Open the DMG and drag Signal to Applications.
  2. First launch: right-click the app → Open. If macOS says the app is damaged, run this in Terminal, then open it again: 
    xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Signal.app
  3. Link the app to your phone: Signal on your phone → Settings → Linked Devices → Link New Device → scan the QR code.

Set up transcription

  1. In Signal: Settings → General → Voice message transcription.
  2. Pick a provider:
    1. ElevenLabs (cloud, best quality) — paste an API key from elevenlabs.io. Audio is sent to ElevenLabs for processing.
    2. Whisper (local, private) — audio never leaves your Mac. Install once: 
      brew install whisper-cpp
      The speech model (~140 MB) downloads automatically the first time.
  3. Open any chat — voice messages transcribe automatically as they appear on screen. Transcripts are stored locally and never re-transcribed. Use Regenerate under a transcript to redo it.