Desk Report:
Meta has launched a new translation feature for WhatsApp users. The company has taken this initiative to remove the language barrier for millions of users.
Meta said on Tuesday that this facility will initially be available in six languages on Android devices and 19 on iPhones. More languages will be added in phases.
In a blog post, Meta also said that the message translation feature will protect the privacy of chats. Because the translation process starts on the user’s device itself. As a result, WhatsApp will not know the user’s information.
To use WhatsApp’s new translation feature, the user just has to press and hold on a message. Then, select the ‘Translate’ option and choose any language, and the message will be translated.
WhatsApp downloads the relevant language file to the user’s device for translation. As a result, the translation work will be done offline. As a result, the user’s message remains on the phone, not sent to any server. Therefore, the end-to-end encryption of the message will be maintained.
WhatsApp said that the translation feature works everywhere – private chats, groups, channel updates. No separate setup is required.
Android users can turn on automatic translation for the entire chat thread, so that all future messages are automatically translated.
This feature is not yet available on all phones. It is being rolled out in stages. For this reason, it is important to keep the WhatsApp app updated.
WhatsApp is gradually rolling out the feature due to technical reasons. Real-time translation may be problematic on older devices. Therefore, WhatsApp is trying to maintain performance by gradually rolling it out.
The feature is currently limited to mobile phones. Meta has not yet made any announcements regarding the desktop or web versions.
Sources: Reuters and Gadget Hacks
