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.
Builds expire. Signal Desktop builds stop working ~90 days after they're made (a built-in Signal safety mechanism). If the app says it has expired, come back here for a fresh build — or build it yourself from the source on GitHub.

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.