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by mfwoods 2315 days ago
> Can I use Signal from desktop only?

Yes, the desktop client functions independently from the phone client once linked (so not like whatsapp that proxies everything through your phone).

> Can I create an account from desktop?

Technically yes, but you either need to compile the desktop client yourself[0] and miss some features or use something like signal-cli[1] to act as the main client. So it's not supported (yet?).

> Is my account independent of any specific device?

The first client that registers acts as the main client, so no. But it might get easier to restore access on a different device without using backups with the secure value recovery[2] stuff they are working on.

> Can I use Signal on multiple computers at the same time with correct credentials?

It's possible to link and use several desktop clients at the same time.

[0] https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/blob/development...

[1] https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli

[2] https://signal.org/blog/secure-value-recovery/