WhatsApp is currently working on a new feature that could revolutionize communication on the messenger. Chats that were not possible before could soon become the norm, and their massive user base are the ones who will benefit most.
In recent years, WhatsApp has begun to significantly expand the functionality of its messenger. Some innovations were quite modest but others offer real added value. More than just catering to a few niche use cases, most of the changes were beneficial across the board. An innovation is another feather in their heavily decorated cap.
Communication tools like WhatsApp help bring people together regardless of distance and time. However, one major communication gap the app cannot overcome is language. If you don’t understand the language of the other person, even having the best instant messaging app won’t help. Of course, there are ways to work around the problem, but these have been temporary at best.
The usually well-informed portal WABetaInfo has discovered evidence of a new WhatsApp beta version (2.24.15.12) where the instant messenger is currently working on a translation function. Once this is ready for the market (which is only a matter of time), users will be able to translate individual chat messages. In addition, WhatsApp also seems to be planning an automated translation function for all messages within a chat.
What does this mean? All incoming messages will be automatically translated. You can then tell that a translation has taken place by the corresponding note appearing below the translation.
Messages sent in WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted. In theory, neither third parties nor WhatsApp itself have access to the communication between two parties. To ensure that this remains the case, the translation process should take place on the users’ smartphones. However, the corresponding language packages must be downloaded beforehand, and we do hope that even modest smartphone specifications can power the local translation.
According to WABetaInfo, only a few languages will be available at first. These include English, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, and Hindi. However, we believe it is only a matter of time until other popular languages are supported.
