Recording a Signal call on a Mac: ask first, then record

Signal Desktop on a Mac makes voice and video calls, one-to-one and in groups, but it has no built-in way to record them. To record a Signal call, you use an app on your Mac that records your microphone and the sound the Mac plays, such as Notey. Before you do, ask. People use Signal because they want their conversations private, and a recording is a copy of the call that exists outside Signal's protection.

This guide covers what Signal Desktop does, how to ask, the steps with Notey, and how to look after the recording. Signal's features were checked on its support site on 25 September 2026. The general version of this guide, for meeting apps, is how to record a Zoom meeting on a Mac.

These steps use Notey. Notey does not notice Signal calls, so you start the recording yourself.

Record a Signal call on your Mac

1. Ask the other person, and wait for a clear yes. Say why: "Can I record this so I have notes of what we agreed?" In a group call, ask everyone.
2. Check Notey's permissions. The first time, allow Notey to use the microphone and to record the Mac's audio. Notey never asks for Screen Recording.
3. Use headphones. On speakers, the other person's voice reaches your microphone and can land on your side of the transcript.
4. Start or answer the call in Signal Desktop.
5. Press Start in Notey. A red dot and the elapsed time show in Notey's window, the menu bar and the floating button.
6. Check both lanes move. You when you speak, Them when they do.
7. Press Stop when the call ends, or earlier if they ask you to stop.

If the other person says no, do not record. Take notes by hand, or send a written summary afterwards and ask them to confirm it.

What Signal Desktop does

Per Signal's support site:

• Requirements: macOS 13 or later. Signal Desktop "must be linked to Signal on Android or iPhone before it can be used." (Signal: installing)
• Calls: voice and video calls from the chat, which Signal describes as private like its messages. (Signal: voice or video calling)
• Group calls: up to 75 people, for members of the same Signal group, and call links that need Signal Desktop 7.30.0 or later. (Signal: group calls)
• Screen sharing from Signal Desktop during a call.

Signal's support site does not describe a way to record calls. If you want a record, it has to come from outside Signal.

Why asking matters more on Signal

On most meeting apps, recording is at least a known possibility: the app has a record button and shows a notice. On Signal, the other person has good reason to assume nothing is being kept. Messages may be set to disappear. They may have moved the conversation to Signal precisely to keep it off other services.

A recording changes that. It is a file on your Mac that holds their voice and words, outside Signal's encryption, for as long as you keep it. That is why the question comes first, and why a no is an answer.

The law points the same way in many places. Some places allow a participant to record a call without telling the others; many require everyone's consent, and a call between two places can fall under the stricter rule. One-party vs two-party consent explains the difference, and how to ask for consent to record has wording that works. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Look after the recording

If you record, keep the recording as private as the call was meant to be:

• Where it lives. Notey keeps recordings on your Mac and never uploads them to transcribe them. With no account, nothing leaves the Mac at all.
• Who sees the text. If you ask Notey for AI notes, the transcript's text, never the audio, is sent to Notey's service and on to OpenAI as a processor; it is not used for training and not kept by Notey. For a sensitive call, you can simply not ask for notes.
• Sync. If you sync Notey between your own Macs, the transcript and notes travel encrypted with a key only your Macs hold; the recording stays on the Mac that made it and is never uploaded, not even encrypted.
• Deleting. When you no longer need it, delete the meeting. Its recording, transcript and notes go with it.
• Sharing. Share text you have checked, not the audio, and only with the other person's agreement.

When Notey does not notice the call

Notey notices calls in Zoom, Teams, Slack and FaceTime, and in Chrome, Safari, Arc and Edge when the browser uses the microphone. Signal is not on the list, so nothing prompts you, and choices that depend on noticing a call, such as arming the next one, do not apply. That is intended here too: for a Signal call, pressing Start after the other person agrees is the right moment. Why your notetaker didn't notice a call starting explains how detection works.

If a side is missing from the recording

Most failed recordings of a Signal call fail in one of three ways, and each is quick to check before the next call:

• Nothing on the Them lane. The call was not playing on this Mac, or Notey is not allowed to record the Mac's audio. Check the call's sound comes out of this Mac, and check the permission in System Settings › Privacy & Security. Allowing an app to record your Mac's audio shows where it is.
• Nothing on the You lane. The microphone is muted at the system level, the wrong input is selected, or Notey is not allowed to use the microphone. Meeting recording silent or transcript empty goes through the checks.
• A gap in the middle. Usually headphones connected or disconnected, or another microphone chosen, mid-call. Notey marks the meeting incomplete and says which side is missing and from when; it never fills the gap with silence. Why a recording is marked incomplete explains each reason.

What you get afterwards

• A transcript made on your Mac, labelled You and Them from the two tracks. In a group call, voices on the other side are told apart after the call and you name them.
• The recording, playable from any line.
• Search across all your meetings by what was said.

Send the other person the notes you took from the call if they would like them. It is a good way to show what the recording was for.

Frequently asked questions

Can Signal Desktop record calls?

Signal's support site describes voice, video and group calls on Signal Desktop, and screen sharing, but no call recording feature. To record, you would use a separate app on your Mac.

Does Signal tell the other person I am recording?

No. A recorder on your Mac is outside Signal, so Signal knows nothing about it. That is exactly why you ask first.

Does recording a Signal call break its encryption?

Signal's encryption protects the call between devices. A recording made on your Mac is a copy outside that protection, kept wherever you store it. Treat it with the same care the other person expected from the call.

Does Notey notice Signal calls?

No. Notey notices calls in Zoom, Teams, Slack, FaceTime and supported browsers. For a Signal call, press Start in Notey after the other person agrees.

What does Signal Desktop need on a Mac?

Signal's support site lists macOS 13 or later, and says Signal Desktop must be linked to Signal on an Android phone or iPhone before it can be used.