Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- A previous report suggested that WhatsApp may implement Google’s Live Translate feature into individual and group chats.
- It now appears that WhatsApp is actually developing its own on-device translate feature and won’t rely on third parties.
- The service is also rolling out a handy ‘favorites’ filter for chats and calls, making it easier to contact chosen people.
WhatsApp is the default messaging app in many regions, connecting users to family, friends, and even businesses. As the service continues to grow, Meta has been looking into ways to further enrich its offerings. Recently, a report indicated that WhatsApp may integrate Google’s Live Translate technology in a future update. It turns out that the company could instead be building its in-house translator to avoid relying on third-party companies.
WABetaInfo has shared in a new post that their original reporting was inaccurate. Instead of adopting Google Live Translate, WhatsApp is building its own translation tool. The feature will reportedly require users to download an additional package upon activation, as it will rely on on-device processing and won’t send users’ messages to the cloud.
According to the report, WhatsApp’s translation feature will initially work with English, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, and Hindi. When toggled, it should automatically translate all texts in a particular chat. This would spare users the need to copy and paste messages and hop between different apps when communicating with foreigners.
Beyond that, WhatsApp announced that it’s rolling out a new ‘favorites’ filter to all users on the latest version of the app. This addition allows you to favorite people in the app to contact them more easily. In the calls tab, favorites get pinned to the top, while a dedicated filter in the chats section allows you to hide non-favorited people.
It’s worth noting that WhatsApp’s translation feature is still under development and may never see the light of day. Meanwhile, the favoriting option is rolling out gradually and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.
