Kate Mills 
Mar 22, 2024
WhatsApp has been detected creating a function that will transcribe voice notes from users' Android devices. The app will use its speech recognition feature to locally analyse voice notes provided and received by users, presenting the transcribed text in the same chat window.
This functionality is still being developed and may be useful when it is inconvenient for the user to listen to a voice note. Furthermore, it may improve accessibility for hearing-impaired users by enabling them to use the built-in voice notes feature.
The feature has been covered by WABetaInfo, and since it's in the development phase for the WhatsApp's beta version for Android 2.24.7.8, even beta testers can't access the voice note transcribing feature for the time being.
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Once the feature is widely rolled out to stable WhatsApp users, a message will pop up on the screen to show users that the app requires 150MB to download new data to their Android device.
Additionally, the app will also notify users that it will access on-device recognition. This will allow the app to extend voice note transcripts while maintaining user privacy and end-to-end encryption for communication.
It should be noted that users will be able to transcribe previously downloaded voice notes even in the absence of any internet connection. Furthermore, the Meta-owned messaging app has been testing the same feature since May 2023, when version 23.9.0.70 of the WhatsApp beta for iOS users was released.
Moreover, the app will download different language packs to the user's device, enabling transcription in many languages. According to the feature tracker, WhatsApp users on iOS can also search through these transcripts because the transcribed text is treated on the app like ordinary messages.
