You can read contents of WhatsApp voice messages in India
What's the story
WhatsApp has begun rolling out its voice message transcription feature for Indian users.
First revealed in November 2024, the feature is now available for Android users and will soon be offered to iOS users as well.
The new addition aims to enhance user experience by letting them read the contents of voice messages instead of listening to them, especially in noisy environments or while multitasking.
User privacy
The facility ensures privacy and security
The voice message transcription facility is powered by on-device processing.
This means that both the voice message and its text transcript are securely managed without any access from WhatsApp.
The content of the voice message, as well as the transcription, remains private to the user.
WhatsApp has clarified that this whole process happens locally on the device, ensuring user privacy and data security.
Language support
It supports multiple languages
The transcription feature works with voice messages in a number of languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. However, as of now, there is no official support for Hindi.
Despite this, some users have claimed to have seen text transcripts for voice messages in Hindi.
WhatsApp is expected to refine the feature and expand language options in the future to serve a wider user base.
Activation process
How to activate transcription feature
To use the transcription feature, users would have to head over to the WhatsApp settings menu and tap on "Chats."
From there, they can scroll down to the "Voice Message Transcripts" section and enable the feature.
They can then choose their preferred language from the available options.
The setup process can be finished using either mobile data or Wi-Fi, depending on user preference.
User experience
Transcribing voice messages on WhatsApp
Once the feature is enabled, you can transcribe voice messages by long-pressing the message, tapping on "More Options," and then on "Transcribe."
The text version of the voice message will show up alongside the audio in the chat.
This offers a handy way for users to keep track of important conversations without having to listen to every voice note, improving their overall messaging experience on WhatsApp.