WhatsApp on Android finally gets voice message transcription

WhatsApp is finally rolling out its long-awaited voice message transcription feature on Android, over a year after it was introduced on the iOS version of the app. The feature is reportedly rolling out to users in the beta channel and currently supports voice message transcription in five languages.

WABetaInfo reports that the feature is available to some users in WhatsApp beta version 2.24.15.5. If you are part of WhatsApp’s beta program and have received the feature, you can enable it by going to the “Chats” option in the app’s settings.

After you enable the feature, WhatsApp will ask you to download a voice data pack to start transcribing voice messages, as WhatsApp relies on your device’s speech recognition to provide end-to-end encrypted transcripts. The feature will then automatically transcribe voice messages, and the transcripts will appear in the selected language in the voice message bubble.

As you can see, the feature currently supports transcription of voice messages in English, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, and Hindi. This suggests that WhatsApp might initially release the feature for Android users in regions where these languages ​​are widely spoken. However, as the iOS version supports more languages, it may reach more regions at a later date. WhatsApp has not shared any rollout details, but we expect the feature to be available on the stable channel in the coming weeks.

Have you received the WhatsApp voice message transcription feature on your device? Let us know in the comments.