WhatsApp has introduced a voice message transcription feature, ideal for situations when recipients cannot listen to messages, such as in noisy environments.
This feature processes transcriptions locally on the user’s device, ensuring privacy. WhatsApp emphasized that no data is transmitted or accessible to third parties. To activate the feature, navigate to the “Chats” section in settings, enable the transcription option, and choose your preferred language. Once set up, pressing and holding a voice message will reveal the “Transcribe” option in the context menu. Note that transcription does not occur automatically.
Language Availability and Rollout
The feature will gradually become available over the next few weeks in countries where supported languages are spoken, adds NIXSOLUTIONS. On iOS 16, transcription supports English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Turkish, Chinese, and Arabic. iOS 17 expands this to include Danish, Finnish, Malay, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Hebrew, and Thai. Android currently supports English, Spanish, and Portuguese, with more languages expected soon.
Expanding Access
As this functionality evolves, WhatsApp plans to add support for additional languages, offering broader accessibility. We’ll keep you updated as more integrations become available.