Guide · Voice notes and languages · For the shop whose customers send voice notes

Customer voice notes and other languages on WhatsApp: voice message transcripts (Arabic on iPhone only), translations the Business app lacks, and voice updates in your channel

Many customers would rather send a voice note than type, and many write in a language your team doesn't read. WhatsApp has two features for this that run on the phone itself: voice message transcripts and message translations. WhatsApp's Help Center limits both in ways that matter to a shop: which languages, which phones, and which app. This guide puts those pages in one place, in plain language.

Published 14 October 2026

Voice message transcripts: what they are and who sees them

WhatsApp's article How to turn voice message transcripts on or off says transcripts are text versions of voice messages. The feature is off by default and has to be turned on, on the phone that receives the note. Once it is on, the person who received the voice message can see the transcript. The person who sent it can't.

1. Open settings: Go to WhatsApp Settings and tap Chats.
2. Turn it on: Turn Voice Message Transcripts on.
3. Pick a language: Tap Choose language and select the language most of the voice messages you receive are in.
4. Download it: On Android, tap Set up now or Wait for Wi-Fi. On iPhone, tap Change to and the language. You can change the language later under Chats > Transcript language. Turning transcripts off resets the language setting.
5. Read a transcript: Tap and hold a voice message, then tap Transcribe. WhatsApp says the transcript might take a moment to become available.

On privacy, the same article says transcripts are generated on your device and your personal voice messages remain protected by end-to-end encryption. It says no one outside the chat, not even WhatsApp, can listen to your voice messages, see the content of the transcripts or share them. WhatsApp's article How to play voice messages adds that you can't delete, edit, or copy and paste a transcript.

Our reading

The transcripts article doesn't say whether it covers the WhatsApp Business app, and it doesn't exclude it either. The translations article, below, does exclude it. Check the Chats settings on the phone your team uses.

Which languages: no Arabic on Android

The transcripts article gives a different language list for each kind of phone:

Android: At this time, only English, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian.
iPhone with iOS 16 or newer: English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.
iPhone with iOS 17 or newer: The same list plus Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hebrew, Malay, Norwegian, Swedish and Thai.
iPhone needs Siri: WhatsApp says the iPhone must run iOS 16 or newer and Siri must be enabled. If Siri wasn't on first, you download the language when you turn transcripts on.
WhatsApp Web: The Web version of the article says transcripts are only available on certain devices and may not be available to you yet.

Our reading

As the Help Center reads on 14 October 2026, a team that hears Arabic voice notes on Android phones can't get Arabic transcripts. On an iPhone it can. Because one language is chosen per phone, a shop that gets voice notes in both Arabic and English has to pick the one most of them are in.

A transcript can be wrong

The transcripts article says it's possible that transcripts are inaccurate. WhatsApp's Channels article on voice update transcripts gives these reasons a transcript can come back as Transcript unavailable (the iPhone version adds two more: the phone runs a system older than iOS 16, or Siri isn't turned on):

Language mismatch: The transcript language you chose doesn't match the language of the voice message.
Background noise: Some words aren't recognised, possibly because of background noise.
Unsupported language: The voice message is in a language that isn't supported.

Our reading

Use a transcript to triage, not to take an order. Before you act on a quantity, a price, an address or a delivery time read from a transcript, listen to the voice note itself.

Playing customers' voice notes faster

WhatsApp's article How to play voice messages says voice messages you receive are downloaded automatically. What it says you can do with them:

Speed up: While a message plays, tap 1x to go to 1.5x or 2x. You can't go slower than 1x.
Jump to a point: Long press the dot on the waveform and drag it to where you want to start.
Keep listening: If you leave the chat, a mini player appears at the top of the screen, so you can pause, play, close or go back to the chat.
Several in a row: Two or more voice messages in a row play in order when you tap Play. Tap Pause on the one playing to stop.
Played or not: A green microphone marks a voice message you haven't played, and a blue one a message you have. When we read it on 14 October 2026, WhatsApp's send article carried a notice that the microphone colour was not updating once a voice message had been played, and that WhatsApp was working to fix it.
Where it plays: Hold the phone to your ear for the earpiece, away from your head for the speaker, or connect headphones.

Sending your own voice notes

WhatsApp's articles How to send voice messages and How to preview a voice message describe recording a reply:

Hold to record: Press and hold the microphone next to the text field and speak. Release to send, or slide left to cancel.
Lock and preview: Slide up to lock recording so you don't have to hold the button. Pause to listen to a draft before you send it, then continue recording, delete it or send it.
First word cut off: If the beginning isn't recorded, WhatsApp says you might need to wait a second before speaking. If the recording disappears before you can send it, try restarting the phone.
Voice status: You can record voice status updates of up to 30 seconds and share them with selected contacts.

If you can't record at all, WhatsApp's article Can't record voice messages lists these checks:

Connection: You must be on Wi-Fi or mobile data. Try switching from one to the other, and restart the phone.
Update: Update WhatsApp to the latest version.
Case or screen protector: WhatsApp uses the proximity sensor, and some screen protectors and cases can disrupt it. Remove them and try again.
Microphone permission: WhatsApp can't record if it doesn't have permission to use the microphone. Change this in the phone's settings.
Bluetooth: The voice message might be playing on a connected Bluetooth device. If no wired headphones or other wired audio device is plugged into the phone, turn Bluetooth off in the phone's settings.
Storage: The phone may not have enough space. Delete items to make room.

View-once voice notes disappear

On 7 December 2023, Meta announced view-once voice messages on WhatsApp: a voice message that disappears once it has been listened to, can only be played one time and is marked with a one-time icon. Meta said WhatsApp protects voice messages with end-to-end encryption by default.

Our reading

Don't send a price, an address, a delivery time or anything else the customer will want to check again as a view-once voice note. Send it in text, where both of you can scroll back to it.

Message translations, and the Business app

On 23 September 2025, Meta announced message translations on WhatsApp. Its post said you long-press a message and tap Translate, that it worked in one-to-one chats, groups and Channel updates, and that translations happen on your device where WhatsApp cannot see them. At launch, Meta said:

Android: Six languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic. Android users could also turn on translation of all future incoming messages in a chat.
iPhone: 19+ languages.

WhatsApp's Help Center article How to translate messages adds the limits:

Not in the Business app: The article says: This feature is currently not available on the WhatsApp Business App.
Not on every phone: Translating messages is only available on certain devices and may not be available to you yet.
What can't be translated: Locations, documents, contacts, stickers and GIFs.
What it needs: A strong Wi-Fi signal or mobile data, and ample storage. Each language is downloaded once and kept for later translations.
How: Tap and hold the message, tap Translate and choose the language. On Android you can also choose to translate all new messages in the chat. Tap and hold again for View translation or Remove translation.

Our reading

The feature sits on the customer's side. A customer using WhatsApp can translate your messages on their own phone, so a clear reply in English or Arabic is still readable to them. Your team can't translate the customer's messages inside the WhatsApp Business app.

Voice updates in your channel

WhatsApp's Channels articles About voice update transcripts and How to listen to voice updates say followers can play a channel voice update at 1.5x or 2x and keep listening in a mini player, and can read it as text once transcripts are on:

Off by default: Voice transcripts are off until each follower turns them on. Once on, they work for channel voice updates and personal voice messages.
Phones only: Voice update transcripts aren't supported on linked devices, including WhatsApp Web, WhatsApp for Mac and WhatsApp for Windows.
Languages: On Android, one article lists English, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Hindi, and the other English, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian. On iPhone, both list the same languages as personal voice notes, including Arabic, with iOS 16 or newer and Siri turned on.
Public: Channel voice updates, like all channel updates, are public, and so are their transcripts.
A known issue: When we read it on 14 October 2026, the transcripts article carried a notice that WhatsApp was seeing issues with voice transcription and working to fix it.

Our reading

A follower on an Android phone who wants Arabic, or who follows your channel on a computer, won't get a transcript of your voice update. Put the offer, the price or the date in the text of the update as well.

What this means for your shop

BitByteCore is a verified Meta Tech Provider (since 9 September 2026). This guide repeats WhatsApp's Help Center and Meta's newsroom as we read them on 14 October 2026, and is not legal advice. The Help Center pages describe the WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business apps. Customers' voice notes can also be sent and received by a business on the WhatsApp Business Platform (see our guide what a business can send besides text); these pages don't cover what a system on the platform does with them.

Our reading

If your team reads Arabic voice notes, WhatsApp lists Arabic transcripts on iPhone, not on Android. Listen before you act on anything a transcript says. Don't count on translating a customer's message in the Business app; your customer can translate yours on their side. Keep prices and details in text, not in a view-once voice note or only in a channel voice update.

Questions

Can WhatsApp turn a customer's voice note into text?

Yes, with voice message transcripts. WhatsApp says they are off by default; turn them on under Settings > Chats > Voice Message Transcripts, choose a language, then tap and hold a voice message and tap Transcribe.

Does it work for Arabic voice notes?

On iPhone, yes: Arabic is in both iPhone lists, with iOS 16 or newer and Siri enabled. On Android, WhatsApp lists only English, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian.

Does the customer see that I read their voice note as text?

WhatsApp says the sender can't see the transcripts. Only the person who received the voice message can.

Can WhatsApp hear my customers' voice notes?

WhatsApp's transcripts article says transcripts are generated on your device and your personal voice messages remain protected by end-to-end encryption, so no one outside the chat, not even WhatsApp, can listen to them or see the transcripts. The article doesn't say whether this covers the WhatsApp Business app, and it doesn't cover a number on the WhatsApp Business Platform.

Can I translate a customer's message in the WhatsApp Business app?

No. WhatsApp's article on translating messages says the feature is currently not available on the WhatsApp Business App.

Can my customer translate my messages?

If they use WhatsApp on a phone that has the feature. WhatsApp says it is only available on certain devices, and Meta said in September 2025 that translations happen on the device, where WhatsApp cannot see them.

Can I play voice notes faster?

Yes. Tap 1x while a voice message plays to switch to 1.5x or 2x. WhatsApp says you can't go below 1x.

Who is BitByteCore?

BitByteCore is a verified Meta Tech Provider (since 9 September 2026). This guide repeats WhatsApp's Help Center and Meta's newsroom, and is not legal advice.

Sources

WhatsApp Help Center: How to turn voice message transcripts on or off, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: How to play voice messages, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: How to send voice messages, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: How to preview a voice message, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: Can't record voice messages, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: How to translate messages, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: About voice update transcripts on WhatsApp Channels, read 14 October 2026.
WhatsApp Help Center: How to listen to voice updates on WhatsApp Channels, read 14 October 2026.
Meta newsroom: Introducing message translations on WhatsApp (23 September 2025), read 14 October 2026.
Meta newsroom: View once voice messages on WhatsApp (7 December 2023), read 14 October 2026.

This guide describes Meta's and WhatsApp's pages as we read them, and is not legal advice. More plain-language notes like this one are on the guides page.

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