How to transcribe WhatsApp voice notes, with dates and who said them
WhatsApp can show a transcript of a voice note inside the app, but to keep the text you need the notes as files: export the chat with media and run the .opus files through a transcription tool. Heardloom does this for one person's notes, in the language they spoke, and keeps each note's date and sender from the export.
Updated · The Open Apps, Inc.
Transcribe a whole chat's voice notes
- Open the chat. In WhatsApp, open the one-to-one or group chat that holds the voice notes.
- Find Export chat. iPhone: tap the person's or group's name at the top, scroll down and tap Export Chat. Android: tap ⋮ (More), then More, then Export chat.
- Include the media. Choose Attach Media (iPhone) or Include media (Android). Without media the export has only the text, and no voice notes.
- Pick whose notes to transcribe. In a family chat, the export says who sent each note. Heardloom lists the people and keeps only the one you choose.
- Check the transcripts. Machine transcripts mishear names and rare words. Read through them and fix what's wrong; the recording stays the reference.
Transcription options
What each one keeps.
| WhatsApp's in-app transcripts | General transcription tools | Heardloom | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keeps the text | Inside WhatsApp only | As a document | In a memoir and a printed book |
| Knows who spoke | Yes, in the chat | No | Yes, from the export |
| Keeps the date of each note | Yes, in the chat | Usually not | Yes |
Use it in ChatGPT
Heardloom Voice Memoir is a ChatGPT plugin. Attach the export and ask, for example:
- “Turn Grandma's WhatsApp voice notes into a book”
- “Make a memoir of Dad's voice messages from this chat”
- “Show me a sample Heardloom memoir”
Coming soon to ChatGPT How it works in ChatGPT
Questions
Which languages are supported?
Heardloom transcribes the language spoken, and notes can switch languages. Printing covers Latin, Greek and Cyrillic letters for now.
Does anyone listen to the recordings?
No person listens to them. They are transcribed by software, never by a person.
Can I fix the text?
Yes, in the card or by asking ChatGPT. The original transcript is kept.