There’s no Google Messages app for Mac. Here’s how to make one.
Google doesn’t make a Google Messages app for the Mac. You can still give Google Messages an app of its own: a window with only Google Messages in it, its own Dock icon, and a hotkey. It stays signed in, and it takes about a minute.
With Tilemode: press ⌃⌥N, enter https://messages.google.com/web, name it Messages, pick a hotkey such as ⌃⌥⌘T, and click Add app.
Built in: open Google Messages in Safari and choose File › Add to Dock (macOS Sonoma 14 or later).
Is there a Google Messages app for Mac?
No. Google Messages is a phone app, and on a computer Google offers Google Messages for web, a website that shows the conversations on your phone. You need an Android phone with Google Messages for it to work.
If you have an iPhone, the Messages app on your Mac already does this, and you don’t need this page.
Giving Google Messages for web its own app keeps your texts one key away, in a window of their own, instead of in a browser tab you might close.
How to make a Google Messages app with Tilemode
- Open Tilemode (it needs macOS 14 or later) and press ⌃⌥N, or choose New web app… from the Tilemode menu.
- Address: type
https://messages.google.com/web - Name: type Messages. This is the name you’ll see in the Dock.
- Hotkey: pick keys such as ⌃⌥⌘T (type
ctrl+opt+cmd+t) and, if you like, a Tile such asright-thirdso it always opens in that part of the screen. - Click Add app, then sign in to Google Messages once inside the new app.
Tilemode builds a small app for it in ~/Applications/Tilemode Apps, with a plain letter icon (no logo), its own Dock spot and its own storage. Prefer the command line? tilemode app add https://messages.google.com/web --name "Messages" --hotkey ctrl+opt+cmd+t --tile right-third does the same thing.
What works in your Google Messages app
It’s Google Messages’s own website, so it looks and works the way it does in a browser. On top of that:
- Its own window and Dock icon. ⌘⇥ finds it like any other app.
- It stays signed in. Each app keeps its own sign-in and storage, separate from your browser and from your other web apps.
- One key to bring it up. The hotkey opens the app, or brings it to the front if it’s already open.
- Notifications. When Google Messages shows a notification while the app is open, it appears as a normal Mac notification.
- Downloads go to your Downloads folder, and links to other sites open in your usual browser.
- Mac keys: ⌘R reloads, ⌘[ and ⌘] go back and forward, ⌘L goes to an address, and ⌘⇧O opens the page in your browser.
Good for
- Reading and sending texts from your Mac, using your phone’s connection
- Searching your conversations
- New messages as Mac notifications while the app is open
What it can’t do yet
- Sending photos or files from your Mac: Tilemode web apps can’t open the file picker yet.
- Voice messages and calls: microphone and camera aren’t available.
Tips for Google Messages as an app
- Pair it once: on your phone, open Google Messages, tap your account picture, then Device pairing. In the app on your Mac, sign in with the same Google account and tap the matching emoji on your phone. The app keeps its own storage, so it stays paired after you quit it.
- One computer at a time: Google Messages for web is active on one computer at a time. If it says it’s open somewhere else, choose to use it here.
- Unused for weeks? Google unpairs it for safety. Pair again the same way.
The built-in way: Safari’s Add to Dock
On macOS Sonoma 14 or later, Safari can make a web app for free:
- Open Google Messages in Safari:
https://messages.google.com/web - Choose File › Add to Dock (or click the Share button and choose Add to Dock).
- Type a name and click Add.
The web app is saved to the Applications folder in your home folder and appears in the Dock and Spotlight. Safari usually carries your sign-in over when you make it. After that it keeps its own cookies and history, apart from Safari. It has a simple toolbar with back and forward, you can give it any name and icon, and for sites that send notifications it can show them with a count on its Dock icon. Because it’s Safari underneath, it also handles things Tilemode apps can’t yet, like choosing files to upload.
More on this, step by step: how to turn a website into a Mac app.
Why make it with Tilemode
Safari’s web app is a good start. Tilemode, our Mac app, adds the parts that make it fast to use every day:
- A hotkey for every app. Press it and Google Messages comes up, whatever you’re doing. Press it again to go through its windows.
- It opens where you want it. Give the app a tile and it lands there every time, next to your other work.
- Tiling for everything else. ⌃⌥1 puts your windows side by side, and ⌃⌥F fills the screen.
- As many as you like. Each app has its own sign-in, so two accounts can be two apps with two keys.
Questions
Will I stay signed in?
Yes. The app keeps its sign-in and storage between launches, separate from your browser and from your other web apps.
Do I need an Android phone?
Yes. Google Messages for web shows the texts on an Android phone that uses Google Messages. With an iPhone, use the Messages app on your Mac instead.
Will I have to pair my phone every time?
No. The app keeps its own storage, so it stays paired after you quit it. Google may unpair it if you don’t use it for a few weeks.
Can I send photos from my Mac?
Not from inside a Tilemode app yet, because it can’t open the file picker. Photos people send you can be viewed and saved.
How do I remove the app?
In Tilemode, run tilemode app remove with the app’s name, or delete it from ~/Applications/Tilemode Apps. For a Safari web app, drag it from the Applications folder in your home folder to the Trash.