In today’s fast-paced world, time feels fleeting—24 hours often seem too brief.
With people constantly on the move, messaging apps have become essential tools for staying connected. These apps make it quick and easy to share information, delivering messages almost instantaneously as long as the recipient is reachable.
Recognizing how busy life can get—so much so that some barely have time to type—WhatsApp offers a game-changing solution.
Over a year ago, the platform began testing a feature to transcribe audio messages into text.
Initially available only to beta users, this feature is now being rolled out to everyone.
Not able to listen? You’ll soon have the option to read transcripts of your voice messages on @whatsapp. pic.twitter.com/cr9GPBA556
— Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) November 21, 2024
The new voice message transcription feature converts spoken words into text, allowing users to read the content of voice messages without having to listen to them.
This is especially handy in situations where playing audio isn’t convenient, such as in noisy environments or during moments when silence is required.
According to Meta, transcriptions are processed entirely on-device, ensuring privacy, after the audio message has been downloaded.
To address privacy concerns, WhatsApp emphasizes that transcriptions are handled securely.
"Sending a voice message makes connecting with friends and family even more personal. There’s something special about hearing your loved one’s voice even when you’re far away. Though sometimes, you’re on the move, in a loud place, or you receive a long voice message that you just can’t stop and listen,” the company said in a blog post.
In the blog post, WhatsApp said that to use the feature, users can simply go to Settings to access Chat, and then select the 'Voice message transcripts' to turn transcriptions on or off and select the transcript language.
transcripts for voice messages are rolling out now! so when you can’t listen right away, you have the option to read them
voice messages transcripts are generated on your phone so that no one, not even WhatsApp, can hear or read them rolling out in select languages— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) November 21, 2024
"You can transcribe a voice message by long pressing on the message and tapping on ‘transcribe’. We’re excited to build on this experience and make it even better and more seamless," it added.
WhatsApp is launching the transcription feature with support for a few initial languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian. The company has confirmed that more languages will be added in the future.
The company said that voice message transcripts are generated directly on users' device, meaning that nothing is sent to Meta for processing.
This should ensure users' personal voice messages remain protected by end-to-end encryption, meaning that no one, including WhatsApp, can listen to the voice messages or access the content of the transcripts, the company explained.