WhatsApp announced Thursday the global rollout of a new feature that allows users to transcribe voice messages into text, enhancing accessibility for users in noisy environments or those who prefer reading messages.
The feature, similar to one introduced by Apple’s Messages app with iOS 17, enables users to convert voice messages to text while maintaining privacy through on-device transcription. WhatsApp emphasizes that the transcripts are generated locally and remain private to the user.
How to Use the Feature
To enable voice message transcription:
- Navigate to Settings
- Select “Chats”
- Tap “Voice message transcripts”
- Choose your preferred transcript language
Users can access transcripts by long-pressing a voice message and selecting the “transcribe” option. The feature requires manual activation for each message rather than automatic transcription.
Language Support
iOS Devices
- iOS 16+: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Chinese, and Arabic
- iOS 17+: Additional support for Danish, Finnish, Malay, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Hebrew, and Thai
Android Devices
Currently supports:
- English
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Russian
WhatsApp has confirmed plans to expand language support in the coming months. The feature will be gradually rolled out globally over the next few weeks.
