J
Joshua Fagbemi
Guest
WhatsApp has announced that it is working on a feature that allows users to make a transcript of a voice message. According to the Meta-owned platform, the feature will employ on-device functioning to process a text transcript of a voice message received which will be displayed in the same chat box.
The voice-to-text feature will come in handy when users are on the move or in a loud place where they can’t listen to a voice message. The feature also allows WhatsApp users to keep up with their conversations when they are unwilling to listen to a voice message.
WhatsApp claims its transcripts are generated on your device and no one else can read them and not even WhatsApp has access to the audio or the text. Also, the new feature will let users continue their conversation irrespective of where they are and what they are doing.
The feature can also be enabled and disabled manually through a new “Voice message transcripts” option within the Chats menu in app settings. To transcribe an audio note, users will select the new “transcribe” option that appears upon long pressing a voice message within chats.
Once the feature is turned on, users will get a transcript for a voice message by long-pressing it and then tapping the “transcribe” option. The company said the new feature is set to roll out in the coming weeks with some selected languages. WhatsApp said the choice of language depends on the user’s phone. Android users can access transcripts in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian.
For iOS, the languages that are supported depend on the OS. iOS 16+ supports languages such as English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Chinese, and Arabic. While iOS 17+ supports languages that also include Danish, Finish, Malay, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Hebrew, and Thai.
WhatsApp pointed out that it plans to introduce additional languages in the coming months.
Apple, a top WhatsApp competitor, introduced a similar feature last year for its iPhone users the Messages app. This was followed by the release of Apple’s software update, iOS 17. Users were able to view a transcription of voice messages. It was tagged as a feature that’s always been more convenient for the sender than the recipient, who doesn’t always have time to listen.
Recently, WhatsApp introduced a ‘Message Drafts’ feature that helps users manage unfinished messages. The feature displays a “Draft” indicator on any unsent message and moves the relevant conversation to the top of the inbox. This provides an easy way to locate and complete messages.
According to reports, WhatsApp is also reportedly working on a reverse image search feature that will enable users to search shared images directly on the web. The new “Search on the Web” option for images within WhatsApp will let users send an image to Google to identify if it has been manipulated or misrepresented.
Last year, WhatsApp unveiled a new feature called “Third-party chats”. This beta release follows closely on the heels of the European Commission’s confirmation that Meta, the owner of WhatsApp, falls under the category of a “gatekeeper” as defined by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
According to this legislation, communication applications like WhatsApp are obligated to introduce a feature called “chat interoperability” or “messaging compatibility”, which will allow its users to exchange messages with users of other third-party messaging applications. This feature must be implemented and functional by March 2024.
At the recent stage of ‘Third-party-chats’, the screen remains non-functional and inaccessible to users. However, its name hints at an important development as it is the potential expansion of Meta’s encrypted messaging app to support cross-platform compatibility.
Read More: WhatsApp unveils ’Third-party Chats’ to let users send messages to other messaging apps.
The voice-to-text feature will come in handy when users are on the move or in a loud place where they can’t listen to a voice message. The feature also allows WhatsApp users to keep up with their conversations when they are unwilling to listen to a voice message.
WhatsApp claims its transcripts are generated on your device and no one else can read them and not even WhatsApp has access to the audio or the text. Also, the new feature will let users continue their conversation irrespective of where they are and what they are doing.
The feature can also be enabled and disabled manually through a new “Voice message transcripts” option within the Chats menu in app settings. To transcribe an audio note, users will select the new “transcribe” option that appears upon long pressing a voice message within chats.
Once the feature is turned on, users will get a transcript for a voice message by long-pressing it and then tapping the “transcribe” option. The company said the new feature is set to roll out in the coming weeks with some selected languages. WhatsApp said the choice of language depends on the user’s phone. Android users can access transcripts in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian.
For iOS, the languages that are supported depend on the OS. iOS 16+ supports languages such as English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Chinese, and Arabic. While iOS 17+ supports languages that also include Danish, Finish, Malay, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Hebrew, and Thai.
WhatsApp pointed out that it plans to introduce additional languages in the coming months.
Apple, a top WhatsApp competitor, introduced a similar feature last year for its iPhone users the Messages app. This was followed by the release of Apple’s software update, iOS 17. Users were able to view a transcription of voice messages. It was tagged as a feature that’s always been more convenient for the sender than the recipient, who doesn’t always have time to listen.
WhatsApp ‘Message Draft” feature
Recently, WhatsApp introduced a ‘Message Drafts’ feature that helps users manage unfinished messages. The feature displays a “Draft” indicator on any unsent message and moves the relevant conversation to the top of the inbox. This provides an easy way to locate and complete messages.
According to reports, WhatsApp is also reportedly working on a reverse image search feature that will enable users to search shared images directly on the web. The new “Search on the Web” option for images within WhatsApp will let users send an image to Google to identify if it has been manipulated or misrepresented.
Last year, WhatsApp unveiled a new feature called “Third-party chats”. This beta release follows closely on the heels of the European Commission’s confirmation that Meta, the owner of WhatsApp, falls under the category of a “gatekeeper” as defined by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
According to this legislation, communication applications like WhatsApp are obligated to introduce a feature called “chat interoperability” or “messaging compatibility”, which will allow its users to exchange messages with users of other third-party messaging applications. This feature must be implemented and functional by March 2024.
At the recent stage of ‘Third-party-chats’, the screen remains non-functional and inaccessible to users. However, its name hints at an important development as it is the potential expansion of Meta’s encrypted messaging app to support cross-platform compatibility.
Read More: WhatsApp unveils ’Third-party Chats’ to let users send messages to other messaging apps.