WhatsApp about to launch new feature to translate chats

How multi-lingual are you? You might know a few international words like adios, namaste, and zeitgeist, but what do you do when a group chat has a long message in Spanish, German, or Chinese? WhatsApp has a solution for that.

In an upcoming update, WhatsApp will introduce a feature to translate all chat messages, according to WABetaInfo. This feature will use language packs, allowing users to receive a notification that says, “Read your messages in your preferred language.” Users can toggle a switch to automatically translate all new messages in the selected thread. A panel will then allow you to choose the language for translation.

With this feature, you won't need to copy messages into an external translation app anymore. It's convenient in many situations, like if your local housing association WhatsApp group includes members who communicate in Spanish. Now, you won't have to guess at words, and linguistic false friends will be a thing of the past. For instance, “Me tengo constipado” will correctly translate to “I have a cold” instead of something else.

As WABetaInfo notes, “The ability to translate messages instantly during conversations will help maintain the flow of communication, making it easier for users to understand and respond in real-time.” Although still in development, WhatsApp appears committed to enhancing this functionality with new automatic translation options.

So far, this feature has been spotted in a beta version of the app for Android devices, and it’s likely that WhatsApp is also working on it for the iPhone.

Interestingly, while it was previously reported that this technology relied on Google’s live translation tech, it now seems that WhatsApp is developing its own in-house technology for message translation. This is beneficial for users as it preserves end-to-end encryption by processing messages on-device, requiring the download of language packs for translation.

It’s still unclear whether the feature will translate only incoming messages or if replies will also be translated into the original language of the thread.