Good news for anyone who’s ever been in a group chat where the conversation suddenly takes a multilingual turn. WhatsApp has begun rolling out a built-in translation feature, letting you translate messages directly into your preferred language.
Here’s how it works: if you spot a message in another language, simply give it a long-press and tap the new “Translate” option. You can then pick which language you’re translating from and to, and even download the language pack for offline use down the line. This handy tool works across your one-on-one chats, groups, and even Channel updates.
For those on Android, there’s an extra level of convenience. You can choose to switch on automatic translation for a specific chat thread. Once enabled, all future incoming messages in that conversation will be seamlessly translated for you.
A key point for the privacy-conscious is that all of this translation happens directly on your own device. WhatsApp emphasises that because the process is local, your messages stay end-to-end encrypted and the company never sees the contents.
The feature is starting its rollout to both Android and iPhone users from the 23 September 2025. There is, however, a slight difference in availability between the two platforms. Android users get started with six core languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic.
iPhone users, meanwhile, have a much wider selection from the get-go, including languages like French, German, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese.