WhatsApp Reportedly Working on Automatic Message Translation for iPhones; Android Gets New Language Packs

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a feature that will automatically translate messages in both chats and groups. This feature is currently under development and is expected to roll out in a future update. Once rolled out, iPhone users will be able to automatically translate messages across 21 different languages.

WhatsApp Working on Automatic Message Translation

According to a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is working on a feature that will automatically translate messages on iOS. Currently, users need to select a message and tap the "Translate" option to view its translation. With this, translation can only be done for one message at a time.

With a future update, WhatsApp will address this limitation by introducing automatic message translations. The feature will be accessible through a new option in the chat info screen, allowing users to choose whether messages should be translated automatically. Users will also need to select the language they want messages to be translated from and into.

To maintain end-to-end encryption, messages will be processed locally on the device. So, users will need to download specific language packs to enable the feature. Once downloaded, these packs will allow messages to be translated instantly without requiring an internet connection.

Once users enable automatic translations, the instant messaging app will automatically display the translated version when a message is received in the selected chat. This means users will no longer need to select a message to view its translation manually.

As noted, this feature will support automatic translations in both individual chats and group chats. However, in group chats, automatic translations will only work when all participants send messages in the same language.

Android Gets New Language Packs

In addition, WhatsApp is also rolling out 13 additional language packs on Android. Earlier, users could translate messages only from a limited set of languages such as Arabic, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, and Russian.

Now, the Meta-owned instant messaging app is expanding support by introducing new language packs. Excluding the automatic language detection pack, the total number of available language packs will increase from six (including English) to 19.

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