WhatsApp's New Trick: Turning Voice Messages into Text

Ever wished you could read a voice message instead of listening to it? WhatsApp has just made that possible! The messaging app, owned by Meta, is rolling out a new feature called voice message transcripts. This handy tool is perfect for when you're on the go or in a noisy place. It's similar to a feature introduced last year for Apple's Message app in iOS 17. With this new feature, voice messages can be turned into text, so you don't miss out on conversations when you can't listen. WhatsApp promises that these transcripts are generated on your device, keeping them private. To use this new feature, you'll need to go into your WhatsApp settings, tap on "Chats, " and then select "Voice message transcripts" to turn it on. From there, you can choose your preferred language for transcripts. Once activated, you can get a transcript for a voice message by long-pressing it and then tapping "transcribe. " But don't worry, it won't automatically transcribe every message. Over the coming weeks, this feature will be available globally in select languages. On iOS, supported languages depend on your operating system. For iOS 16+, languages include English, Spanish, French, and more. For iOS 17+, additional languages like Danish and Finnish are supported. On Android, the feature is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. WhatsApp plans to add more languages in the future.