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Read transcripts of WhatsApp voice messages
Sending someone a voice message in WhatsApp can save you the hassle of typing one and make your communication feel more personal – such as for a birthday greeting. But listening to voice messages isn’t always easy, especially when you’re in a noisy environment or a quiet but not private one. They’re also difficult to find later, because you can’t search their content like you can with text messages.
To address these problems, WhatsApp has updated its app with a useful ‘Voice message transcripts’ feature. This converts audio clips into text, so you can read them when it’s not possible to listen, and search for specific voice messages later.
To activate this new option, tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of the app and choose Settings, then Chats. Switch on ‘Voice message transcripts’ under ‘Chat settings’ (see screenshot below left), then tap ‘Choose language’ and select English (Spanish, Russian and Portuguese are also supported). Press ‘Set up now’ to download the language pack.
To view a transcription, long-press the voice message in a WhatsApp chat and choose Transcribe. The transcribing is performed entirely on your phone, so nobody else – including WhatsApp – can read the message content.