WhatsApp has pushed a new update for Android to v2.25.14.7 via the Google Play Beta Program. An introduction to this update is a voice message transcript, which allows users to have voice messages turned into text as they want. This, of course, is rolled out to beta testers for now but has been promised to even more users in the coming weeks.
Users on WhatsApp for iOS (version 25.12.10.70) got to decide whether their voice messages would be transcribed, a feature that was spotted previously. And now WhatsApp is matching the option with Android users, to make that more seamless across devices.
Today, in this article, we will discuss the new features of WhatsApp Beta for Android 2.25.14.7.
What Are Voice Message Transcripts?
Transcripts of Voice Messages allow users to read what someone expressed in a voice message without having to listen to the audio. You can read it instead of listening if you are in a quiet environment like a meeting or classroom, but this is useful when you are.
The ability of WhatsApp to decide how we’ll react to unavailable users has now been disclosed to us through a new section on the settings page. Finally, users can set up their voice messages in one of three ways:
1. Automatic Transcription
As soon as a supported language voice message is received, it is converted into text. That’s useful for users who tend to receive voice messages, but they don’t want to listen to them; they may want to read them for any reason.
2. Manual Transcription
Transcription of voice messages occurs only when the user elects. With this, users have more freedom and will determine who’s whose messages to convert into text.
3. Disable Transcription
The feature can be completely turned off by users. Voice messages in this mode will continue to exist in audio form only, like they did in the past. This setup allows users to tailor their features as per their habits, needs, or privacy preferences.
How It Works
Transcription feature takes advantage of downloadable language packs and operates offline in your phone—the voice messages are not shared with any servers. This is a safe way of keeping the content protected by WhatsApp’s end to end encryption and kept private.
Currently, there are the following languages are supported for transcription:
- English
- Spanish
- Portuguese (Brazil)
- Russian
- Hindi
Later, WhatsApp can come up with more languages so that the feature can be added.
Who Gets the Feature?
For this reason, the feature is released in pieces right now. Although you’re using the latest beta version (2.25.14.7) there is a chance that new transcription options won’t become available right away. This is because WhatsApp is totally rolling it out slowly to test the performance once, gathering feedback before making it available more generally.
If recent versions of WhatsApp, some users on the beta program or not, may get the feature if they are not on the beta program, this means it would be covering a bigger test phase.
A Quick Look at the New Settings
Inside the updated settings menu, beta testers will notice a new piece regarding voice message transcription. In this aspect, they can go between automatic, manual or disable the modes easily. The feature is easily adapted to each person’s preference due to this simple control panel.
This automatic option is handy for the user who wants to access voice messages in text form quickly and doesn’t need a lot of time to do that. Those who will only do this occasionally and do not want to spend time transcribing would prefer this manual setting.
For those who are OK with listening to those voice messages the usual way, turning the feature off is a step in the right direction. A different mode provides unique benefits to each user’s use of the WhatsApp service.
