A feature for transcribing voice messages on iOS WhatsApp is currently undergoing testing.
Normally, WhatsApp users use third party apps in transcribing messages but this is a move from WhatsApp to stop it because these third-party apps store speech data on their servers which raises privacy concerns. For now, it’s only working on the iOS version as Android may follow later in the future.
Screenshots from WhatsApp for iPhone that showed the development stages of the transcription feature was posted by WhatsApp beta tracker WABetaInfo. It also showed how the transcription feature would work. Users will be asked to grant permission to share speech data (human voice) with Apple if they wish to transcribe. The speech data is sent by WhatsApp to Apple’s speech engine for transcription. This dissociates Facebook’s involvement in the process.
Another screenshot shared suggests that users would also get timestamps that let’s them skip a specific part of the message.
For quick access to transcribed text, Transcription is saved locally in the WhatsApp database when a voice message is transcribed for the first time.
However, no timeframe for availability has been stated for the transcription feature on iOS. WhatsApp may provide its access to beta testers in the coming future.
