WhatsApp has started rolling its voice message transcription feature for users in India, making it easier for them to read the content of voice messages. Announced in November 2024, this feature is now live for Android users and will soon be available to iOS users. This joint promises to increase the user experience, especially in situations where a voice message is inconvenient, such as in the noise environment or during multitizing.

The transcription feature is powered by on-device processing, ensuring that both voice messages and its text transcript are safely controlled without any access from WhatsApp. This means that the contents of the voice message, as well as transcription, remain private for the user. WhatsApp says that the entire process is taking place local on the device.

While this feature is available for voice messages in many languages ​​including English, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian, currently some cases despite displaying text tapes for voice messages in Hindi, there is currently no official support for Hindi. This is likely to change in the future as WhatsApp continues to refine the feature and to expand language options to complete a large user base.

To activate the transcription feature, users must navigate in the WhatsApp settings menu. By selecting “chat” and scrolling on the “Voice Message Tape” section, the user can enable the feature. They can then choose their favorite language from available options, including English, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. The setup process can be done on mobile data or Wi-Fi based on user preference.

Once you are capable, users can easily choose the message by tapping and holding the message, selecting “more options” and then “transcarib”. The text version of the voice message will appear with the audio in the chat, which will provide a convenient way to keep the track of important conversations without the need to listen to each voice note.