WhatsApp is finally rolling out its long-awaited voice message transcription feature to its Android app, a year after it was first available on the iOS version. The feature, available to users in the beta channel, currently supports voice message transcription in five languages.
This feature is available to some users in WhatsApp beta version 2.24.15.5. Those who are enrolled in WhatsApp’s beta program and have received the feature can enable it by going to the Chats option in the app settings.
Once you enable the feature, WhatsApp will ask for a language data pack to be downloaded to start transcribing voice messages, as it relies on your device’s speech recognition to provide end-to-end encrypted transcripts. The feature will then automatically transcribe voice messages and the texts will appear in the selected language in the voicemail bubble.
WhatsApp Android app supports new feature for five languages
The feature currently supports voice message translations in English, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, and Hindi. This suggests that WhatsApp may initially release the feature to Android users in regions where these languages are widely spoken. However, the iOS version may reach more regions at a later date as it supports more languages. WhatsApp hasn’t shared any details about the rollout, but the feature is expected to reach more users in the coming weeks.