WhatsApp rolls out voice note transcript feature

• Published On: 26 February 2025 at 17:13

WhatsApp has begun rolling out its highly anticipated voice message transcription feature in India.

The feature, first announced in November of last year, uses on-device processing to convert voice messages into text, allowing users to read the content of a voice note without playing the audio.

The transcription feature has begun to appear on WhatsApp's Android app and is expected to be available on the iOS app soon.

While Hindi is not officially listed as a supported language, users have reported that voice notes recorded in Hindi are still being transcribed as text.

Currently, the officially supported transcription languages are English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian.

The voice message transcription feature allows users to read the contents of a voice message, making it easier to continue conversations without having to listen to the audio — a useful option for users in public places or during meetings.

WhatsApp emphasized that the transcriptions are completely processed on the user's device, ensuring privacy, as neither the audio nor the text are accessible to WhatsApp.

Users can also enable or disable the feature by selecting the "Voice message transcripts" option from the Chats menu in the app's settings.

The rollout is another step in WhatsApp's efforts to improve user experience by giving people more control over how they communicate.