The function to have the app transcribe audio messages has already appeared in the latest test version of WhatsApp for the iPhone, WABetaInfo reports . The function converts the spoken words in a voice memo into a written message. It is still an early test version.
The transcripts are done on the user’s device and are not uploaded to servers. The app downloads the necessary “language packs” if it recognizes words in other languages, writes WABetaInfo. Currently, the feature is only in the iPhone test version. When WhatsApp plans to release the transcription feature for all users is not yet clear.
Competitor Telegram has long offered audio and video transcription, but that feature is only available to Telegram Premium subscribers.
WhatsApp also announced new options in the Status section of the app earlier this week. This makes it possible to only place a spoken message as Status. Such a voice recording may not exceed 30 seconds. Users can now also determine with whom a Status is shared and they can respond to the Status of others with emojis.
WhatsApp is also coming soon with a new feature to send messages to yourself . Competitors such as Telegram and Signal have had such a function for some time.
In the Netherlands, according to research agency Newcom, WhatsApp has 13.3 million active users, 10.8 million of whom use the app on a daily basis.