Signal Messenger, different ways to install it on Ubuntu 20.04

about signal

In the following article we are going to take a look at different ways to install Signal Messenger on Ubuntu 20.04. This is a popular and secure messaging program over the Internet, which was already talked about a while ago in this blog. Signal is well known for focusing on privacy, as well as bringing all the features that users can expect in a chat app today. Security features help ensure user privacy. Today, end-to-end encrypted protocols have become the most important feature of any messaging application, and Signal is no exception in this regard.

This service uses these secure protocols and does not share your application data with any other existing application. All these features make this app one of the best options for privacy-conscious users. In the following lines we will see different ways to install this client for Signal messaging app on Ubuntu 20.04. It must be clarified that in order to use it, we will need to install Signal on our mobile phone.

Install the Signal Messenger application on Ubuntu 20.04

Using snap

To install this program using its corresponding package snap, we just need to open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T). Once open, we will use the following command to install the Signal Messenger app:

install signal snap

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sudo snap install signal-desktop

uninstall

For remove Signal installed as snap package, you just have to open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and run this other command:

uninstall signal snap

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sudo snap remove signal-desktop

Using flatpak

Another possibility to install Signal Messenger is by using its corresponding flatpak package. If you still do not have this technology in your Ubuntu 20.04 system, you can continue The Guide that a colleague wrote in this blog some time ago.

Once the possibility of installing flatpak packages is available, we will only have to open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and run the install command:

install signal flatpak

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flatpak install flathub org.signal.Signal

uninstall

For remove this program installed as flatpak package, you just have to open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and type the command:

uninstall signal flatpak

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flatpak uninstall org.signal.Signal

Using apt

The next method of installing Signal is through the apt package manager. Before proceeding with the installation, we will need install the official key for software signing. We can do this by opening a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and writing in it:

download key signal

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wget -O- https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt/keys.asc | sudo apt-key add -

At this point, we can move on to add the official repository. For this we will only need to use this other command in the same terminal:

add repo signal apt

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echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt xenial main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/signal-xenial.list

Now, we have to update the list of available packages from the repositories:

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sudo apt update

The next step to follow will be install the Signal Messenger app in our system. To do it, we just need to type in the terminal:

install signal apt

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sudo apt install signal-desktop

uninstall

We can remove this installed program with apt, just by opening a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and executing the command:

uninstall signal apt

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sudo apt remove signal-desktop; sudo apt autoremove

For remove the official repository, in the same terminal we will only need to launch the following command:

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sudo rm -rf /etc/apt/sources.list.d/signal-xenial.list

Using GUI

The last installation possibility that we are going to see is through the GUI. This is very simple, we just need access the Ubuntu software option to install the Signal app.

install signal GuI

Once the software option is open, we can write in the search bar "Signal Desktop”. When we locate the package, we will be able to locate the Signal Desktop option available. Once selected, just we will have to click on the button that says «Install«.

uninstall

Remove this program graphically, It is as simple as opening the Ubuntu software option and searching for Signal Desktop. When we have located the installed package, all you have to do is click on the button that says “Remove".

uninstall signal GUI

Access the Signal application

To access the installed application, use the one you use, type Signal in the application search bar. There is the place where we will be able to find its corresponding launcher. Click on this launcher to start the application.

signal launcher

When it starts we will have to scan the QR code that it will show us with our phone. This means that We will have to have Signal installed on our mobile phone to be able to use the program from the Ubuntu desktop.

QR code access to signal

After scanning the QR code that we will see on the Ubuntu screen with the Signal installed on our phone, the application will open and we can start using it without problems.

signal dark theme

As we have just seen, there are different possibilities to install the Signal Messaging application on Ubuntu 20.04. Any user who wants to know more about this application, can on request the project website.


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