Transcribing a voice message means automatically recognising the speech in a messenger audio recording and returning the result as text. It comes in handy in several situations:
Below are step-by-step instructions for Telegram, WhatsApp and iMessage, with specific apps for both Android and iPhone.
Telegram is the only one of the popular messengers with native support for transcribing voice messages. There are two routes: a paid one through Telegram Premium and a free one through bots.
On clean speech, accuracy stays around 85–90%; with background noise it drops. The feature also has a limit on message length.
Transcription bots accept a forwarded voice message and return the text for free:
A bot is a good replacement for a subscription if you only transcribe voice messages occasionally.
Important: when you send a voice message to a bot, it is processed on external servers — it's best not to forward confidential content that way.
⚠️ Note: WhatsApp is testing built-in transcription on iOS 16+, but as of 2026 the feature isn't available to everyone. Below are three proven methods that work reliably.
If you already have Telegram installed, there's no need to add another app:
If the "Share" button doesn't work, save the file through the Files app and send it to the bot manually.
Dedicated apps such as Transcriber and Speech to Text integrate with WhatsApp through the "Share" menu:
Among the options tested, Transcriber offers the best recognition accuracy. Alternatives include Speech to Text and Audio Message to Text for WA.
On iOS, the usual choices for this task are VoicePop, Scribbn and Textr:
VoicePop is more convenient than its competitors because it shows the transcription right on top of the messenger — you don't have to switch between apps. Scribbn works in a similar way but shows ads in its free version, and Textr is another workable option. None of these apps run automatically — every transcription requires an action from you.
This section applies only to conversations between Apple devices. Starting with iOS 17, iMessage gained native offline transcription; for older versions of the system there are workarounds.
Processing happens directly on the device, with no internet connection — the data never leaves your phone. That level of privacy isn't available with most bot-based solutions.
If you can't update to iOS 17 yet, there are two options:
Both are more involved than the native iOS 17 feature, so it's worth updating the system as soon as you can — after backing up your device first.
| Method | Messenger | Platform | Difficulty | Offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram Premium | Telegram | Android / iOS | Low | No |
| Transcription bot | Telegram, WhatsApp (via forwarding) | Android / iOS | Low | No |
| Transcriber | Android | Medium | No | |
| VoicePop | WhatsApp, iMessage | iOS | Medium | No |
| iOS 17 native | iMessage | iOS | Low | Yes |
Telegram users only need Premium or a bot. For WhatsApp, Transcriber is handier on Android and VoicePop on iPhone. Anyone on iOS 17 or newer can rely on the built-in iMessage feature. For long voice messages, or to transcribe several files at once, it's simpler to use a dedicated service such as Any2Text.
If you need to transcribe a long message, or several files at once, try Any2Text — it turns audio and video into accurate text and exports to SRT, DOCX, XLSX and TXT.
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