Finally: WhatsApp will gain native audio transcription feature

If you are part of the group of people who hate receiving audio on WhatsApp, we have good news. The company announced this Thursday (21): The app will gain a native voicemail transcription feature.

Now users will be able to control the automatic transcription of the audio right below the message. Check out an example of how news should appear in chat:

WhatsApp emphasizes that voice messages will be kept end-to-end encrypted and transcripts will be created directly on the device.

This functionality has been highly requested by users as it allows you to follow a conversation even in noisy environments or simply avoid having to listen to longer voice messages. Before the native feature, alternative tools such as LuzIA, a free transcription AI, had to be used.

How to use local transcriptions on WhatsApp?

To start using the feature, you need to change the app’s settings. First, go to “Settings,” then “Conversations,” and finally “Voicemail transcriptions.” From there, just select the Portuguese (BR) language option.

Once set up, you can convert voice messages to text by long pressing on the message and tapping ‘write text’.

The new feature will be available globally in the coming weeks, initially in selected languages. However, the company expects to add more language options in the coming months.