WhatsApp: three new features that change the game for your chats 💬

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WhatsApp continues to enhance the messaging experience with features designed for greater convenience and ease. Among the recent announcements, three stand out: transcription of voice messages, message drafts, and a much clearer typing indicator.

Voice Message Transcription: Understand Without Listening 🎙️

Voice messages can be helpful but are not always convenient, especially in public or noisy environments. WhatsApp addresses this issue with a new voice message transcription feature.

Source : WhatsApp

This option converts audio messages into text directly on your device without compromising privacy. To enable it :

1. Go to Settings > Chats > Transcribe Voice Messages.
2. Choose the desired language (a dictionary download may be required).
3. To transcribe a message, long-press on the voice message and select « Transcribe. »

Currently, available languages vary by platform. iOS users can already enjoy transcriptions in French, while Android users are limited to English, Portuguese, Spanish, or Russian. The feature will roll out gradually worldwide.

In terms of privacy, transcriptions are processed locally on your device and are protected by end-to-end encryption. This ensures that neither WhatsApp nor third parties can access your data.

Drafts: Never Lose Your Messages Again 📝

Have you ever started typing an important message but weren’t ready to send it yet? WhatsApp finally introduces message drafts, allowing unsent messages to be saved and accessed later within the conversation.

On the home screen, chats with drafts are highlighted with a green « Draft » label, making them easy to identify.

Source : WhatsApp

This feature, now available on both iOS and Android, is a major convenience for users who previously lost their partially written messages.

A more visible typing indicator 💭

WhatsApp’s classic typing indicator, located at the top of the screen, lacked clarity and usefulness. The latest update, currently in beta, offers a significant improvement with a direct typing indicator in conversations.

Now, an animated bubble with three dots will appear next to the icon of the person or group typing. If multiple people are typing simultaneously, their icons will appear individually.

Source : WABetaInfo

Inspired by Messenger, this more intuitive system makes it easier to follow conversations. Already available in beta version 2.24.21.18, this update is expected to roll out to all users in the coming weeks.

With these three features, WhatsApp once again proves its commitment to meeting user needs. Voice message transcription streamlines communication, drafts reduce frustrations, and the typing indicator modernizes chats. These updates bring WhatsApp closer to the standards of leading messaging apps like Telegram.

Do you regularly use WhatsApp? What do you think of these updates? Let us know in the comments!