WhatsApp Rolls Out Voice Message Transcripts With Support for English and Other Languages

WhatsApp rolled out a new feature on Thursday that aims to make sharing voice messages more convenient. It introduces voice message transcripts on WhatsApp for Android and iOS platforms, enabling users to see a text-based transcription of the voice message received from others. The feature is said to come in handy while on the move or in a loud environment. This development comes after WhatsApp recently released a drafts label for unread messages in chats and a new widget for the home screen of its iOS app.

WhatsApp Voice Message Transcripts

In a blog post, WhatsApp highlighted that voice message transcripts are generated on-device and no one else can hear or read the content of the transcripts. Voice messages still remain protected by the instant messaging platform's end-to-end encryption, the company emphasised.

The feature needs to be turned on before use. Once toggled, a transcript automatically appears below the voice message in the selected language. As per the company, only the recipient will be able to see a transcript of the voice message and not the sender.

WhatsApp says it currently has support only for English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian on the Android platform, whereas its iOS app gets support for several more languages including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Thai, Turkish, and Swedish.

How to use this feature:

1. Open WhatsApp Settings > Chats
2. Toggle Voice Message Transcripts on or off and select the desired language.
3. Tap and hold a voice message, then tap Transcribe.
4. Tap the expand icon in the voice message to reveal more of the transcription.

WhatsApp says it might take a moment for the transcript to appear. If the users run into the “Transcript unavailable” error, it might be due to unsupported transcript language, unrecognisable words background noise, or unsupported voice message language. The company also advises caution as voice message transcripts have a possibility of being inaccurate.