If you use iMessage a lot on your iPhone but you spend a lot of time on a Windows PC, you might be wondering if there is such a thing as iMessage for Windows.
The short answer is no, there’s no official Apple iMessage app available to download or use on Windows devices.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use iMessage on your Windows computer — there is a workaround that you can use if you have both a macOS computer and a Windows computer.
This workaround requires you to use the Chrome web browser and an extension called Chrome Remote Desktop.
How To Use iMessage on Windows with Chrome Remote Desktop
Step 1: Install Chrome Remote Desktop on both your devices
The first thing you need to do in order to get iMessage for Windows is install the Chrome Remote Desktop browser extension on both your Windows and your macOS systems.
You can do this by going to the Chrome Web Store and searching for “Chrome Remote Desktop,” then clicking on “Add to Chrome.”
Remember to do this on the Windows PC on which you want to use iMessage and on the macOS computer that you will host iMessage from.
Step 2: Download the Chrome Remote Desktop host software on your Mac
With the browser extension installed on both devices, open it up on your Mac and click “Get Started” to download the host software.
Make sure you do this on your Mac, because this is the system that will be actually hosting iMessage and that you need to access remotely.
Step 3: Click “Enable Remote Connections” on your Mac and create a login
Once the host software is downloaded on your Mac, open the extension again and click “Enable Remote Connections.” This will allow you to access your macOS device from your Windows computer.
After you click on this, you’ll be prompted to create a login, which you need to do in order to sign in and use iMessage from your Windows PC in the next steps.
Step 4: Log in to your Chrome Remote Desktop account on your Windows PC
Now that you have remote access enabled and a login created on your Mac, you’re almost there.
The next step is to open up the Chrome Remote Desktop extension on your Windows computer and sign in to the account you just created.
Step 5: Choose “Start Screen Sharing” for your Mac on your Windows device
When you are successfully logged in to your Chrome Remote Desktop account on Windows, you should see your Mac device listed on the screen.
All you have to do now is select “Start Screen Sharing” for your Apple PC and you now have full remote access to your Mac and all it’s apps and programs, including iMessage.
Just open up the iMessage app while screen sharing to get iMessage for Windows!
What If You Don’t Have an Apple Computer To Host Chrome Remote Desktop?
The above method of using iMessage on Windows is great if you, say, have an iMac at home and use a Windows laptop for work or while traveling.
But what if all you have is a Windows PC? Can you still get iMessage on Windows?
There are some unverified third-party apps that purport to let you use iMessage on a Windows PC, but information on how these work is limited.
If you do decide to try out such a third-party app to get iMessage on Windows, we urge you to be very cautious about what kinds of information and access you provide the app.
Entering things like your Apple ID login information and other sensitive data into an unverified Windows iMessage app can be risky, as you have no idea what they will actually do with that data.
The Chrome Remote Desktop method we discussed above is very safe and secure, as Chrome is a trusted browser from Google, a very reputable and trustworthy company, and you don’t have to provide any sensitive data in order to use it.
Alternatives to iMessage on Windows
If you’re trying to figure out how to get iMessage on your Windows PC because you love the functionality, you might consider switching your instant messaging to a different third-party app that works on all your devices.
Apple apps like iMessage are great, but figuring out how to keep your communications flowing is kind of a pain for people like you who use a mix of devices that aren’t all made by Apple.
That’s why it’s worth considering alternative chat apps that function in a similar way to iMessage, but work on all your devices.
For example, we love the Spike conversational email app, which turns your email inbox messages into iMessage-style chats, lets you start group chats with team members or clients, and even has built-in sidebar chats on collaborative online notes.
Really, iMessage’s functionality is basically just text messaging, and an app like Spike has so many more features that can improve your professional and personal communications, increase collaboration at work, and make you more productive overall.