WhatsApp is working on a feature that will provide written transcriptions of incoming voice messages. WABetaInfo posted screenshots of the alleged Transcribe feature, which includes disclaimers it is optional and users have to give permission for the app to access their phone's speech recognition software. The new feature raises questions about privacy, as calls will be sent to Apple for transcription and to help Apple'improve its speech recognition technology.' WhatsApp says the calls will remain protected by end-to-end encryption because they'won't be directly linked to your identity'. Previously, WhatsApp users had to rely on third-party apps to get transcriptions. The WhatsApp info site WABetaInfo shares images of a new voice message transcription feature coming to the popular messaging app.

Is the improved transcription feature the new replacement of the earlier Google Live Transcribe? The latest audio-to-text translation service is out and about, but only for Android users for the time being. Record the audio in one language and have it rendered in another language altogether! Lengthy discussions can be easily transcribed into text now, without any trouble. January marked the launch of the AI-Powered transcription feature of Google Translate on Android, and now it supports transcribed translations between any of the eight languages, including French, German, Portuguese, English, Thai, Hindi, Spanish, Russian.

Microsoft wants to make it easier for gamers to understand each other's inappropriate ramblings during intense multiplayer sessions. The company recently announced a public beta release of a new game chat transcription feature for Xbox One and Window 10 PCs. Chat transcription doesn't create an archived record of all the insults you hurled at gdogg23's mother last Friday. Instead, it provides a real-time display of chat comments using a speech-to-text engine. Chat transcription also goes the other way, taking typed chat and turning it into speech.