One of the biggest debts WhatsApp owes its users is voice-to-text conversion—not its dictation feature, but processing recorded messages to save time and read their content. Maybe Zuck and company haven't figured out how to monetize such a feature, but while they waste time, the folks at TranscribeMe have stepped in to fill the gap. All you need to do is forward a voice message to their bot, and the algorithm handles the heavy lifting.
The good news is that many people can communicate more easily using WhatsApp voice messages. The virtual keyboard is problematic (especially on small screens), and recording a message helps them save time. The bad news is that these users often ignore the length of their messages, and absolutely no one is going to listen to a six-minute 'anthem' on their phones.
Facebook offered a partial solution to this conflict: accelerated audio playback. It's increasingly common to see people in the street "flying" through their messages at 2x… but WhatsApp never took the next step, which is dynamic voice-to-text conversion (supposedly a beta exists... but it's moving at a snail's pace). Over time, many services have tried to meet that demand, and one that went viral in recent hours is TranscribeMe, which besides transcribing WhatsApp audio also provides a summary of its content.
How to transcribe WhatsApp audio with TranscribeMe
Basically, the whole process boils down to adding the TranscribeMe bot as a contact, then sending it the audio you want transcribed. TranscribeMe's algorithm was nearly instantaneous during our tests, but it's logical to assume a longer delay if the message is extremely long.
What are the service's limits? In its free version, TranscribeMe allows 20 minutes of transcription per month, a maximum audio length of 10 minutes, and 10 audios per week. This includes summaries of long audio and the ability to translate into more than 30 languages. In contrast, its Plus version (720 Argentine pesos + VAT per month) extends the monthly transcription to 200 minutes, removes all limits of the free edition, and prioritizes user transcriptions during high-demand times.
Now, the million-dollar algorithm question: What about privacy? TranscribeMe assures that it does not store any audio, and not needing any app means it doesn't request additional permissions on the device... but it wouldn't hurt for the company to offer a bit more transparency in the near future.
Official site: Click here
