Instant messaging platform, WhatsApp, is working on a new feature for the Android version of its app. The new feature will display the transcribed text of the voice notes. For this, the app will use the speech recognition feature on smartphones. The app will locally process voice notes that are sent and received on the device. Here are all the details you need to know about this feature.
The upcoming feature was spotted by WABetaInfo. The feature is available on WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.7.8. It is currently under testing and is not available to even beta testers. However, WABetaInfo has shared a screenshot to give a glimpse of what the feature might look like once released to the public.
The screenshot shared by WABetaInfo reveals a pop-up card that provides details on how a new feature will work when it is released to users. According to the message, users will be required to download 150MB of fresh app data to their smartphone to enable voice note transcripts on their devices.
WhatsApp will inform users about the use of on-device speech recognition. This feature will enable the app to provide voice note transcripts while ensuring user privacy and maintaining end-to-end encryption for messages. Moreover, it suggests that voice notes that are already downloaded can be transcribed even when there is no data available.
WhatsApp has been experimenting with a similar feature since May 2023. The feature was first introduced in version 23.9.0.70 of WhatsApp beta for iOS. With this feature, the app downloads language packs onto users' smartphones, facilitating transcription in various languages. In addition to this, WhatsApp users on iOS can search through these transcripts as the text is indexed like regular messages, as reported by the feature tracker.
The feature allows voice messages to be transcribed into text. This could also come in handy when it is not feasible to listen to a voice message.
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