How to uninstall Signal on Windows

Signal Desktop is a linked device tied to your phone, and its message history lives only in a local, encrypted database on this PC. Signal's servers deliver each message once and keep no copy you can restore later. In this test, Signal's own uninstaller deleted that database together with the app, so decide what you need from this PC's history before you uninstall, not after. This guide covers Signal installed per-user from the OpenWhisperSystems.Signal winget package.

Save what exists only on this PC

Check the backup, export and linked-device options your Signal version documents on Signal's support site. If you only need a few files, open the conversations, save the attachments you want to a folder of your own, and open the copies to confirm they are complete. Uninstalling does not unlink this PC from your account; on your phone, open Settings › Linked devices and unlink it there when you are done.

Quit Signal first

Signal adds a startup entry that opens it in the tray at sign-in. Right-click its tray icon and quit, then check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for any Signal.exe still listed. You can also turn the entry off in Settings › Apps › Startup.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Signal, and choose Uninstall, or run:

winget uninstall --id OpenWhisperSystems.Signal

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
`%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\signal-desktop`	Program files	The uninstaller removes it
`%APPDATA%\Signal`	The encrypted message database, attachments, settings and caches	Save what you need before uninstalling; the uninstaller removed it in this test
`HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run`, value `org.whispersystems.signal-desktop`	The sign-in entry that starts Signal in the tray	The uninstaller left it pointing at the removed program; turn it off in Settings › Apps › Startup or let Mole remove it
`HKCU\Software\Classes\sgnl` and `signalcaptcha`	The `sgnl://` and `signalcaptcha://` link registrations	Left by the uninstaller; safe to remove once the app is gone

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process Signal -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id OpenWhisperSystems.Signal
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\signal-desktop"
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\Signal"
Get-ItemProperty HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run -Name org.whispersystems.signal-desktop -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Test-Path HKCU:\Software\Classes\sgnl

No output from Get-Process only means this query observed no matching process; a suppressed error leaves the running state unknown.
A completed winget list query with no match means the package record is gone; a matching row means the uninstall did not finish.
The first Test-Path returning False means the program folder is gone.
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\Signal" returning False means the message database is gone from this PC; True means it is still there.
Get-ItemProperty returning values means the entry remains. With no output, check for permission or other query errors before deciding that it is absent.
Test-Path HKCU:\Software\Classes\sgnl returning True means the link registration is still there.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same uninstaller Settings › Apps uses, with the same result, including the deleted message database and the leftover sign-in entry.

What Mole lists

For Signal installed per-user from winget:

The program folder goes with the app row.
%APPDATA%\Signal is listed but not selected, since it holds your messages. The caches inside it (Cache, Code Cache, Crashpad, DawnGraphiteCache, DawnWebGPUCache, GPUCache and logs) are listed on their own and selected.
The desktop and Start Menu shortcuts are selected by default.
The sgnl:// and signalcaptcha:// links, two COM class registrations and the sign-in entry, all still pointing at the removed program, are selected by default and backed up to a .reg file before removal.

What this test covered

Tested on 2026-09-29 with Signal 8.28.0 installed through winget, per-user scope, on an ARM64 virtual machine. Its NSIS uninstaller ran silently and removed %APPDATA%\Signal itself. Every listed row was ticked and removed in this test. Not verified: a linked phone, a real message history, and Signal's own backup options.