WhatsApp has begun rolling out translation features for messages
WhatsApp has been developing a feature to translate chat messages and channel updates since last year, and it is now accessible to some Android users participating in the beta program.
According to WABetaInfo, this translation functionality is currently available to users running beta version 2.25.12.25 of WhatsApp for Android. The rollout is expected to gradually expand to more beta testers in the coming weeks.
The feature supports translations for Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Hindi, and Russian. Since the translation process occurs on-device and does not require an active internet connection, users need to download a language pack corresponding to the language they wish to translate. Alternatively, there’s an option to download a universal pack that can automatically detect the language of incoming messages and translate them accordingly.
The option to enable translation can be found in the chat info screen, where users can select the language they want messages to be automatically translated from. This setting can be customized on a per-chat basis for both private and group conversations. If users prefer not to enable automatic translations, they can manually translate individual messages by opening the message options and selecting “Translate.”
However, it’s important to note that WhatsApp’s translations may not be as accurate as those provided by cloud-based services. This is because the translations are performed on-device using lightweight language packs, which have limitations compared to more robust systems. To address this, WhatsApp allows users to provide feedback to help improve translation quality, without sharing the original or translated messages with Meta.
If you’re using the beta version of WhatsApp for Android and have access to this new translation feature, we’d love to hear about your experience so far.
