How to
- Save the voice message from WhatsApp (see below how).
- Drop the .opus, .ogg or .m4a file here.
- Read the text a few seconds later, copy it or download it.
Drop the WhatsApp voice note recording above and you get its text in a few seconds to a few minutes. Speech recognition runs in your browser: the audio is never uploaded, there is no length limit and no account.
What you get
- This is speech recognition, not a format change: it listens to the recording and writes down what is said, with punctuation and capitals.
- The text is split into paragraphs at the pauses. Timestamps are kept on screen, and in the SRT and VTT exports.
- Around a hundred languages, detected automatically. It can also translate the speech into English.
- Clear speech comes out close to perfect. Background noise, people talking over each other and rare names cause mistakes, which you can correct in place before downloading.
- Speakers are not labelled: the text says what was said, not who said it.
What it is for
Use plain text for notes, minutes, quotes from an interview, a voice message you cannot listen to right now, or anything you want to search, copy or translate.
Because nothing is uploaded, it is suitable for confidential recordings: medical, legal, HR interviews, or private voice notes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get the voice message file out of WhatsApp?
On iPhone: press and hold the voice message, choose Forward, tap the share icon, then Save to Files. On Android: press and hold the message, tap Share (or the three dots, then Share) and save it to your files; received notes also sit in the WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Voice Notes folder. On WhatsApp for computers or WhatsApp Web: hover the message, open its menu and choose Download.
What format are WhatsApp voice notes?
Opus audio, usually saved as .opus or .ogg. Both are read directly here, as are .m4a and .mp3 if you converted the note before.
Can I transcribe a voice message straight from WhatsApp?
On Android, yes: install AnyFileFormat as an app (button on this page), then in WhatsApp or Telegram press and hold the voice message, tap Share and pick AnyFileFormat. Transcription starts by itself, on your phone. iPhone does not allow web apps to receive shared files yet, so there you save the message to Files first.
Does the sender know I transcribed it?
No. Nothing is sent to WhatsApp or anyone else: the file is read and transcribed inside your browser.
Is my WhatsApp voice note file uploaded?
No. Speech recognition is downloaded to your browser once and runs there. The recording itself never leaves your device: you can go offline once it has loaded and it still works.
How accurate is it?
On a clear voice, Accurate makes very few mistakes; Fast makes more but runs on any phone, and Balanced sits in between. Every line can be corrected before you download.
How long does it take?
On a recent computer, a minute of speech takes a few seconds with Fast or Accurate, and a little longer with Balanced. Phones are slower. Silences are skipped, so a long recording with pauses goes faster than its length suggests.
Why is there a download the first time?
Recognising speech on your device means downloading the recognition itself: 80 MB for Fast, 245 MB for Balanced, 545 MB for Accurate. It is stored in your browser, so later transcriptions start at once.
Which languages are supported?
About a hundred, including English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Russian. The language is detected automatically; you can also set it yourself.
Is it free? Is there a length limit?
Free, with no account and no limit on minutes: your device does the work, so there is nothing to meter. Very long recordings are limited only by your device's memory.