When we say we’ve genuinely been awaiting the launch of a voice note transcription feature from WhatsApp for the past three years now, we aren’t joking. We should explain that iOS users have had the feature since early 2023, while Android users have had to suffer through numerous “uhmms” and “ahhhs” (you know who you are) in the build-up to the feature’s Android release. No longer, according to a fresh report from WABetaInfo.
Committing a serious transcription
The update was spotted in the WhatsApp beta version 2.24.15.5 for Android and has already snuck its way onto several beta users’ devices. Beta users and, when it eventually rolls out to them, regular users will first need to enable the feature in the settings for both incoming and outgoing messages – as well as download an “additional data package to preserve user privacy.”
That data package determines which language(s) you’d like the feature to transcribe on-device. Currently, only five languages are available: English, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, and Hindi. It’s a rather small pool of supported languages and possibly points to the territories WhatsApp aims to get the feature to first. Stuff’s beta-enabled device (an Honor Magic 6 Pro running version 2.24.15.7) doesn’t yet have the feature, but we expect that to change soon.
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If you’re stressed about privacy, WABetaInfo confirms that all transcription takes place locally on the device (just like it does for iOS devices), meaning nobody – not even WhatsApp – can hear your voice notes or read their transcripts apart from those involved in a conversation (or if the message is reported, presumably).
Unfortunately, there’s no word from WhatsApp nor WABetaInfo on when the feature might be fully released, though the latter does mention that “it is rolling out to even more people over the coming weeks.” If past releases are anything to go by, a public rollout shouldn’t be too far off.