Someone sends a two-minute voice note while you're on a call, or in an office where you can't play it out loud, or you'll need to find "the address" in it later. WhatsApp has voice message transcripts, but in the phone apps. As of late September 2026 they weren't available in WhatsApp Web or the desktop app. This post covers the phone route first, then a way to transcribe voice notes in Chrome on your computer.
Option 1: Voice message transcripts on your phone
WhatsApp introduced them in November 2024 (WhatsApp blog). The transcript is made on your phone. WhatsApp's help page "How to turn voice message transcripts on or off" gives the steps:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings and tap Chats.
- Turn on Voice Message Transcripts.
- Tap Choose language and pick the language most of your voice messages are in.
- Tap Set up now or Wait for Wi-Fi. The phone downloads the language files.
- To read one, tap and hold a voice message, then tap Transcribe.
Transcripts are off by default, and only you see them. The sender doesn't.
Option 2: Transcribe in WhatsApp Web with WA Folders
I built WA Folders, a Chrome extension that runs only on https://web.whatsapp.com. Version 1.2.9 can turn a voice note into text when you click. It doesn't work in the phone app or the desktop app, it never sends messages, and it isn't affiliated with WhatsApp or Meta.
By default the speech model (OpenAI's open Whisper model, run with transformers.js) runs on your computer. Nothing leaves your browser, and it can never send a message.
Steps
- Install WA Folders: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/hahfpdlfieloofgjhanljbbnakinfhil?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=howto7
- Open https://web.whatsapp.com and open a chat with a voice note.
- Click Transcribe under the voice note.
- The first time, a box explains the download (next section). Pick a model.
- "Transcribing…" shows while it works. Then the text appears under the voice note, marked "Transcribed on this computer".
That's a short Portuguese test clip I sent to my own "Message yourself" chat. Read the transcript closely and you'll find a word that's off. Speech models get names, slang and noisy audio wrong sometimes, so play the note if a detail matters. Re-transcribe runs it again.
The first time: the model download
Before anything downloads, WA Folders shows what it's about to fetch:
First use downloads the speech model: Accurate, about 252 MB, from Hugging Face. No chat audio is sent with that download.
On a metered connection or a low-RAM computer, pick Light (80 MB).
To get the audio, WhatsApp may show this voice note as played.
Download and transcribe gets Accurate (whisper-small, about 252 MB), Use Light (80 MB) gets whisper-base, and Cancel downloads nothing. You can switch later in Settings → Voice notes. The model downloads once and stays in your browser. In 1.2.6 the WA Folders panel could cover part of that box on a small window. That's fixed in 1.2.7: the box now sits in front of the panel.
Things to know
- The note may show as played. To get the audio, WA Folders may play the voice note muted for a moment, so the sender can see it as played.
- Languages. Pick the language your voice notes are in under Settings → Voice notes → Language: Portuguese (the default), English or Spanish.
- Silence. If a note has no speech, it says "No speech detected" instead of inventing text.
- Length. Notes longer than 15 minutes aren't transcribed.
- Transcripts stay on this device. They're saved in your browser, so the next time you open the chat the text is still there. They show up in WA Folders search and in chat exports.
- Translate it. If the transcript is in Portuguese, English or Spanish, click Translate under it to read it in one of the other two. Translate WhatsApp Web messages (Portuguese, English, Spanish) on your computer explains how translation works.
Your own API key instead
If you'd rather not download a model, Settings → Voice notes has "My own API key" for OpenAI or Google Gemini. Then each click sends that one note's audio from your browser to the provider you chose, never to WA Folders, and the result is marked "Transcribed with your API key". The provider bills you for it. With the default setting, no audio leaves your computer.
Free and Pro
The free plan includes 5 transcriptions a day, counted on your computer and reset at local midnight. Only successful new transcripts count, so opening a saved one again is free. Pro has no daily limit. Free plan included; Pro is a one-time unlock, see https://wafolders.com.
Which one to use
Use the phone's transcripts when you're on the phone. Use WA Folders when you're working in WhatsApp Web and want the text next to the chat, searchable later, or translated.
FAQ
Can WhatsApp Web transcribe voice messages?
Not as of late September 2026. WhatsApp's transcripts are in the Android and iPhone apps.
Does the sender know I transcribed their voice note?
WA Folders sends nothing. The one visible side effect is that WhatsApp may mark the note as played, because the audio has to be read.
Does the audio go to a server?
Not with the default setting. The model runs in your browser after a one-time download from Hugging Face, and that download carries no chat audio. Audio only leaves your browser if you choose your own API key and click Transcribe.
Does it transcribe automatically?
No. Only the voice note you click.
More WA Folders how-tos: How to make folders in WhatsApp Web, How to search WhatsApp Web messages, and why some don't show up (transcripts show up there too) and How to export a WhatsApp Web chat, and what ends up in the file.
If it saves you from replaying voice notes, a rating on the Chrome Web Store helps other people find it.
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