Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- WhatsApp’s upcoming auto-translate tool could have the ability to detect languages in a chat automatically.
- It might require users to download an additional Automatic language detection pack measuring 24MB.
- The messenger is also working on a new feature to let users add social media profile links to their WhatsApp profiles.
WhatsApp has been working on a handy tool to help users easily chat with foreigners for quite some time now. We first caught a glimpse of the in-development translation tool last July. At the time, it was speculated that WhatsApp would rely on Google’s Live Translate tech to translate chats, but a subsequent report revealed that the messaging app was instead developing an in-house solution and gave us a good idea of how it may work upon release.
Pre-release screenshots of the feature suggested that WhatsApp would prompt users to select a language and then download the corresponding language pack to translate messages in a chat. However, a new report indicates that the final version of the tool may not require users to select a language manually.
According to WABetaInfo, changes in the latest beta update (version 2.25.4.5) suggest that WhatsApp plans to automate the language selection process. The translate tool will allegedly be able to detect languages in a chat and automatically translate all messages to the user’s language of choice.
Users will still be required to download language packs, as all translations will happen on-device to alleviate privacy and security concerns. In addition, the tool will require an extra 24MB download to enable automatic language detection.
The ability to automatically detect languages and translate messages will be particularly useful in group chats, as users won’t have to manually identify and select the other group members’ languages. For now, we can’t say how effective the tool will be at detecting languages and translating chats. It’s still in development and may take a while to reach users.
Along with the auto-translate tool, WhatsApp is also developing a new feature that will allow users to add social media profile links to their WhatsApp profiles. This feature is already available to business accounts on WhatsApp, and it may soon make it to personal profiles.
