WhatsApp to text: free voice message transcriber
Turn any WhatsApp voice message into text in seconds — free, no signup, nothing to install. This transcriber for WhatsApp works with the .opus and .ogg files WhatsApp exports, plus .mp3 and .m4a, in Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, English and 100+ other languages.
Your file is sent over HTTPS, transcribed, and discarded immediately. Nothing is stored. Privacy policy
How to get the voice note file out of WhatsApp
The tool needs the audio file. Getting it takes about five seconds:
- On WhatsApp Web or Desktop: hover the voice message, click the chevron (⌄) that appears, and choose Download. WhatsApp saves it as an
.opusor.oggfile. - On Android: the file is already on your phone at
Internal storage → WhatsApp → Media → WhatsApp Voice Notes. Or tap the message, choose Share, and send it to yourself. - On iPhone: tap and hold the voice message, tap Forward, then the share icon, and save the file.
Then drop it above. You do not need to convert it first — .opus works directly.
Why doesn't WhatsApp just do this?
It partly does, and it is worth knowing where the limit is. WhatsApp has a built-in Voice Message Transcripts feature, but it only runs in the mobile app — not on WhatsApp Web or the desktop app — and it supports about five languages on Android (English, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Hindi). iOS covers more, up to twenty on iOS 17 and later.
So if you work on a computer, or your voice notes arrive in Urdu, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese or Bengali, the built-in feature will not help you. That is the gap this tool fills.
It is also worth being clear about the difference between transcription and translation. WhatsApp's transcript gives you the words in the language they were spoken. If a supplier sends a voice note in Arabic, you get Arabic text. Turning that into English is a second step.
Downloading and uploading each voice note gets old fast. The Voqua Chrome extension puts a Transcribe button directly on every voice note inside WhatsApp Web, and gives you the translation alongside the transcript — no downloading, no uploading, no tab switching.
WhatsApp to text on iPhone, Android and WhatsApp Web
The transcriber works the same wherever the voice note came from. Only the step of getting the file out differs:
- WhatsApp to text on iPhone: tap and hold the voice message, tap Forward, then the share icon, and choose Save to Files. Open this page in Safari and upload the file.
- WhatsApp to text on Android: tap and hold the voice message, tap Share, and pick your file manager or Drive — or upload straight from
WhatsApp → Media → WhatsApp Voice Notes. - WhatsApp Web and Desktop: hover the voice message, click the chevron (⌄), choose Download, and drop the file above.
WhatsApp's built-in transcripts vs. this transcriber
| WhatsApp's built-in transcripts | This free transcriber | |
|---|---|---|
| Works on WhatsApp Web / Desktop | No | Yes |
| Languages | About 5 on Android, up to 20 on iPhone | 100+, including Urdu, Bengali, Indonesian, Tamil |
| Auto-detects the spoken language | No — one language set in Settings | Yes |
| Signup needed | — | No |
| Audio stays on your phone | Yes | No — processed on our server, then discarded |
If your voice notes are in a language WhatsApp supports and you're on your phone, the built-in feature is the more private choice — here's how to turn on WhatsApp voice message transcripts. For everything else, use the transcriber above.
Which file formats does WhatsApp use?
| Where it came from | Format | Works here |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp Web / Desktop download | .opus or .ogg | Yes |
| Android — WhatsApp Voice Notes folder | .opus | Yes |
| iPhone — forwarded or shared | .m4a or .opus | Yes |
| Recorded elsewhere | .mp3, .wav, .m4a | Yes |
Common questions
Is this free?
Yes, for a few voice notes a day. Heavier use is what the Voqua plans are for, and the Chrome extension's free tier includes five voice notes a day inside WhatsApp Web.
Do you keep my audio?
No. The file is transcribed and discarded. It is not logged, not saved to a database, and not used to train any model. Full detail in the privacy policy.
Can it transcribe a voice note in Urdu, Thai or Arabic?
Yes. This tool is not limited to the five languages WhatsApp's own transcript feature supports on Android.
Can I get a translation as well as the transcript?
Yes — use the free translate-a-voice-note tool, which gives you the transcript and a translation into your language. Or, inside WhatsApp Web, the Voqua extension shows both together on every voice note.
How long can the voice note be?
Up to 10 MB, which is roughly 20–30 minutes of WhatsApp voice audio — voice notes are heavily compressed.