WhatsApp has been observed developing a feature that transcribes voice messages in the latest Android beta version.
WhatsApp plans to transcribe voice messages on your smartphone while maintaining end-to-end encryption.
WhatsApp has been observed working on a functionality that transcribes voice messages on Android smartphones. Leveraging the speech recognition capability of the device, WhatsApp will process voice notes locally, generating the transcribed text within the chat interface for both sent and received messages. This feature, presently in the development phase, could be useful in situations where listening to a voice message is impractical. Additionally, it may enhance accessibility for users with hearing impairments, allowing them to utilize the native voice notes feature.
WABetaInfo, a feature tracking platform, has unearthed a new feature being developed for WhatsApp beta on Android version 2.24.7.8 — the capability to transcribe voice messages. Although the chat platform owned by Meta is still refining the feature, it’s currently inaccessible even for beta testers. Nonetheless, WABetaInfo has provided an image depicting how the feature might appear upon release.
In the screenshot shared by WABetaInfo, a pop-up card illustrates the functionality of the upcoming feature once it’s deployed to users. A notification informs users that the application will require the download of 150MB of additional app data on their smartphone to activate voice note transcriptions.
WhatsApp will notify users about its utilization of on-device speech recognition, enabling the app to generate voice note transcriptions while safeguarding user privacy and maintaining end-to-end encryption for messages. This implies that voice notes already downloaded can be transcribed even without an active data connection.
It’s important to mention that WhatsApp has been experimenting with this feature since May 2023, when version 23.9.0.70 of WhatsApp beta for iOS was introduced. The application downloads language packs to users’ devices, facilitating transcription in various languages. Additionally, WhatsApp users on iOS can search through these transcriptions, as the text is indexed similarly to regular messages, as reported by the feature tracker.
