Millions Turn to Voice Notes—But Listening Isn't Always Easy
Meta reports that WhatsApp had around 24 million unique daily visitors in France alone. Many users prefer sending quick voice messages—it’s often faster than typing. But sometimes, you simply don’t have time or it’s just not convenient to listen, especially if that voice note stretches on for several minutes.
Sure, you could play voice notes at a higher speed, but for many, reading a message is just simpler and more practical.
WhatsApp Added Audio Transcriptions Back in 2024
In November 2024, WhatsApp announced the rollout of a transcription feature for voice messages. As the company put it at the time:
“There’s something special about hearing the voice of someone dear when miles separate you. But sometimes you’re on the move, in a noisy place, or you’ve gotten a long voice note you just can’t listen to.”
This option has since been available for both Android and iOS, but you need to turn it on in your settings to use it.
How to Turn On Voice Message Transcription
Whether your phone runs iOS or Android, the steps are the same. Open WhatsApp and head to the “You” tab at the bottom right corner, which displays your profile photo. Scroll down to find the “Chats” (or “Discussions”) setting. Select “Transcribe voice messages.” Under “Receive transcriptions,” choose “Manually.” Then pick your preferred transcription language. If your app is in French, that will be the default language. No update or app restart is needed. Once set up, transcription is ready to use immediately.
How to Transcribe a Voice Note
When you get an audio message, press and hold on it, tap the three dots in the top right corner, then select “Transcribe” from the menu. The transcription will show up just below the voice note. Now, you can read your messages any time—even if you can’t listen or don’t want to.
