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Guide

Google Messages on a Mac: the web app or Synqed

Google Messages for Web puts your Android texts in a browser tab on your Mac: open messages.google.com/web in Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge and sign in with the Google Account your phone uses. Synqed is a different route: a Mac app that shows your SMS threads, and also handles calls, notifications, the clipboard and files, over your local network with no account. Synqed sends plain-text SMS from the Mac.

Before you start

  • A Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple silicon and Intel.
  • An Android phone running Android 13 or later.
  • Both on the same local network: the same Wi-Fi, or the Mac joined to the phone's hotspot. Synqed has no relay server, so it does not work across the internet.

Steps

  1. Pair the phone and the Mac. Install Synqed on both, open them on the same network, compare the numeric code on the two screens and confirm.
  2. Allow SMS access on the phone. Synqed asks for permission to read and send SMS when you turn messages on. It does not need to be your default SMS app, so Google Messages stays your messaging app on the phone.
  3. Read and reply on the Mac. Your SMS threads appear in the Messages section of the Mac app and update as messages arrive. Type a reply in any thread, or start a new one to any number.

First time? Install the Mac app and the Android app, open both, and confirm that the numeric code matches on the two screens. That pairs them, and they reconnect on their own after that. If they can't find each other, see support.

What it does not do

  • Plain text only from the Mac. Attaching pictures or other media from the Mac is not supported.
  • SMS only. RCS chats are not shown as threads, though the notifications Google Messages posts for them can be mirrored to the Mac.
  • Same network only. Synqed has no relay, so the phone and the Mac must share a local network.

Google Messages for Web and Synqed, side by side

  • Where it runs. Google Messages for Web: a browser tab (Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge). Synqed: a Mac app, on macOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple silicon and Intel.
  • Signing in. Google Messages for Web: the same Google Account as the phone, confirmed by tapping the matching emoji on the phone. Synqed: no account; you compare a numeric code once.
  • Phone. Google Messages for Web: Android 5.0 or later with the latest Google Messages. Synqed: Android 13 or later.
  • Network. Google Messages for Web: the phone needs Wi-Fi or mobile data, and the computer needs an internet connection. Synqed: the phone and the Mac on the same local network, talking directly.
  • More than one computer. Google Messages for Web: you can pair several, but only one is active at a time.
  • Everything else.Synqed also answers calls (the audio stays on the phone), mirrors notifications, shares the clipboard, moves files and mirrors the phone's screen. Google Messages for Web is for messages.

Google Messages for Web details are from Google's Messages for web help page, checked 14 November 2026.

If messages are all you need and you are happy in a browser, Google Messages for Web is Google's own option. If you want your texts in a Mac app alongside your calls and notifications, see how to read and send Android texts on a Mac.

Questions

Is there a Google Messages app for Mac?

Google's help page for using Messages on a computer describes Google Messages for Web, which runs in a browser. Synqed is a separate Mac app for Android SMS, and it is not made by Google.

Can I use Google Messages for Web and Synqed together?

Yes. Synqed reads and sends SMS through Android's own SMS permissions and does not replace your messaging app, so Google Messages and its web version keep working as before.

Cost

The Mac app is free. The Android app has a 7-day free trial, then Synqed Pro is was $20 now $7 once, plus tax. No account. Details on Synqed Pro.

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