WhatsApp introduces Voice Message Transcripts

WhatsApp engineers have begun rolling out a new feature that allows users to read audio messages when hearing them is not an option. Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, announced the latest functionality on the official WhatsApp blog:

Sending a voice message makes connecting with friends and family even more personal. There’s something special about hearing your loved one’s voice even when you’re far away. Though sometimes, you’re on the move, in a loud place, or you receive a long voice message that you just can’t stop and listen.

For those moments we’re excited to introduce voice message transcripts. Voice messages can be transcribed into text to help you keep up with conversations no matter what you’re doing.

Voice message transcripts in WhatsApp may convert any voice message into standard text with on-device processing for added privacy. WhatsApp states that "no one else can hear or read your personal messages."

WhatsApp claims voice message transcripts are gradually being rolled out, so all users should have access to the functionality in the coming weeks. Unlike other browsers, such as Telegram, where transcripts are exclusively available to paying subscribers, WhatsApp's voice-to-text feature is free for all users.

However, it's worth mentioning that only a few languages are currently supported. According to the official WhatsApp documentation, voice messages can only be transcribed in English, Portuguese, Spanish, or Russian. If you want to enable the option, navigate to Settings > Chats > Voice Messages Transcripts and select your language.

WhatsApp also states that in some cases, you may receive the "Transcript unavailable error" even while attempting to convert a message. This could be due to unsupported language, background noise, unrecognised words, etc.