Facebook Testing Voice Chat Transcription In Messenger

Chat is a big feature for many Facebook users — the only feature some of them use at this point — and so it always nice to see when a new feature is on the horizon. In the past, the social network introduced a feature that allows users to send their friends voice clips through Messenger in much the same way one can in WhatsApp, and it is convenient to be able to speak a message quickly. Those on the receiving end, however, might find listening to that message terribly inconvenient when in public.

David Marcus of Facebook's messaging team recently took to his account on the social network, revealing a screenshot of a new feature the group has been secretly working on: video chat transcriptions. It seems progress is somewhat advanced, as Facebook has started testing.

As of today, says Marcus, Facebook has started rolling out the feature to select users as part of a "small test" to see how it works out. As you can see in the screenshot, it is very straight-forward — when you receive a voice chat, the transcription shows up in italics below the audio player.

The transcription is automatic, and will hopefully become a more widely available feature in the future, though that isn't a guarantee at this point. The social network is presently looking for feedback on its "tiny scale" test from those who earned the transcription functionality.

SOURCE: David Marcus