In an effort to improve the user experience, WhatsApp is launching a voice message transcription function that is currently accessible for some beta iOS testers, according to WABetaInfo.
The WhatsApp news tracker reported, “After installing the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.9.0.70 update available on the TestFlight app, we can confirm that WhatsApp is finally releasing this feature to some beta testers!”
The transcription has been added to the message bubble, as seen in the screenshot up top.
This function is enabled by default, but you can turn it off by going to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Voice Message Transcripts if you don’t want your voice messages to be transcribed for any reason.
The end-to-end encryption is always maintained by this function because the transcription is done locally on the user’s device utilising language packs.
Because it uses the newest APIs provided by iOS 16, which enable the app to process the voice message locally on the user’s device without the need to transfer the message to external servers, the ability to transcribe messages is only available for some users on newer versions of iOS.
“The ability to transcribe voice notes is available for some beta testers that install the latest version of WhatsApp beta for iOS from the TestFlight app, and it is rolling out to even more people over the coming weeks.”
As the text is indexed and searchable after the voice note is transcribed, the transcription feature also enables users to look up information inside the message.
