A voice message can be turned into text. There is a control on the bubble; tap it and the words appear underneath, which you can read in a meeting, on a train, or anywhere that playing four minutes of somebody talking is not an option.
For people who receive a lot of voice messages, this is the single feature that justifies the subscription, and it is worth understanding what it is good at.
What you will be able to do
- check_circle Read a voice message instead of listening to it.
- check_circle Judge the transcription against the audio.
- check_circle Make voice messages you send easier to transcribe.
- check_circle Know what leaves the device.
The text appears under the bubble and can be hidden again; the audio is untouched.
record_voice_over Reading is faster than listening
Speech arrives at the speed the speaker chose. Text arrives at the speed you read, which for most people is several times quicker, and it can be skimmed — you can see at a glance whether a four-minute message needed four minutes of your attention.
It also makes voice messages usable in places where sound is not: an open office, a quiet carriage, a room with a sleeping child, or any situation where finding headphones is more effort than the message is worth.
Round video messages are covered as well, which matters because those are the ones people cannot discreetly play at all.
Do I have to listen to the whole thing?
No — transcribe it, read the first lines, and then decide. Most long voice messages contain one sentence that matters, and the text tells you where it is. The audio does not go anywhere, so anything ambiguous can still be checked by listening to that part of it.
Does the sender find out that I read it instead of listening?
No. Transcribing produces exactly the same signal as playing it, so there is nothing to be awkward about and no separate mark for having taken the written route.
How accurate is it?
Clear speech in a supported language comes out very well, punctuation included. The weak points are names, places, technical terms and numbers — and they fail plausibly rather than obviously, which is the dangerous kind of wrong. Background noise, two people talking over each other and an unfamiliar accent all make it worse. Where it matters, listen to that section instead of trusting the text.
Can I find a voice message again a year later?
Not by searching, because there is nothing in it for search to read. Transcribe it and copy the line that matters into a reply, and it becomes findable like any other message. For anything said aloud that somebody will need again — an address, a time, a decision — the written version in the chat is the record and the recording is not.
What should I do differently when I send one?
Assume the other person may read you rather than hear you. Say the important thing early, speak clearly, and type the numbers, addresses and names instead of saying them — those are precisely what transcription gets wrong, and typing them also makes them copyable.
Does everybody have this?
No, it is part of the paid subscription, and that is worth remembering from the sending side. A four-minute voice message to somebody without it is four minutes of their time rather than one of yours, and they cannot skim it, search it or quote it.
settings Using it
- Tap the transcribe control on the voice bubble The text appears below it.
- Skim before deciding to listen Most messages do not need both.
- Listen to any part with a name or a number in it Those are the unreliable words.
- Hide the text again From the same control, to keep the chat tidy.
- Write down anything that matters A transcription is not a searchable record until you type it.
- Do not transcribe secret chat audio It would send it off the device.
This page is a machine reading a message aloud back to you as text. The curriculum step is the neighbouring feature and the same caution: automatic translation, what it is reliable for, and where checking against the original is not optional.
At a glance
- 1Transcribe voice
Tap the transcription button to read a voice message.
- 2Check the audio
Names, numbers and jargon are often wrong.
- 3Leaves the device
Avoid transcribing in Secret Chats.
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