How to Transcribe a WhatsApp Call: What Works in 2026

WhatsApp’s apps offer no call transcript or call recording, so WhatsApp can’t transcribe a personal call for you. Its transcripts cover voice messages only. To transcribe a WhatsApp call, take it on your computer and run a desktop app such as Reline, which writes a live transcript of both sides. Tell the other person first.

To turn a call into text, something has to capture people’s voices, so treat a transcript like a recording. WhatsApp has no recording feature for personal calls, so it shows no recording notice, and a recorder on your computer adds nothing to the call either: nobody knows unless you say so, so the notice is on you. Several US states, California among them, require every party to agree before a call is recorded, and in the EU you need a lawful basis under the GDPR and should say why you record. Rules differ by country and state, so check the rules where everyone on the call is. The simple habit: say at the start of the call that you are recording for notes, and stop if someone objects.

One line is enough: "I would like to record this call to get a transcript for my notes. Is that OK with you?" Wait for a clear yes before you press Record. A desktop recorder is not a way to record someone in secret: if the answer is no, do not record.

WhatsApp’s calling page mentions recording only for screen sharing, where your phone warns that you are about to begin recording with WhatsApp. That prompt is part of the screen-sharing steps, and the page describes no transcript or saved copy of a call, so screen sharing is no way to get a transcript.

1. In WhatsApp, open Settings, then Chats, then Voice message transcripts.
2. Turn transcripts on and pick your language.
3. Press and hold the voice message and tap Transcribe.

WhatsApp says these transcripts are generated on your device, so that not even WhatsApp can hear or read your personal messages. They started with a few languages in November 2024, and WhatsApp’s help center has the current list. None of this reaches a call: a call leaves no message to press and hold.

This works because your computer plays the call. End-to-end encryption protects the call on its way between devices, but the other person’s voice still comes out of your speakers or headset. A desktop recorder captures that sound plus your microphone. No notetaker bot can join a WhatsApp call, and none is needed.

1. Install WhatsApp for Windows or Mac and link it to your phone. Calling from WhatsApp Web has also been rolling out gradually since July 28, 2026, so it may have reached your account.
2. Install the Reline desktop app and sign in. The Free plan includes 10 hours of transcription.
3. Allow the microphone when asked. On a Mac, also allow system audio. On Windows, make the headset or speakers you hear the call on your default output device: Reline records that whole device, so a call playing elsewhere is missed, and music or notifications on it are recorded too.
4. Place or answer the call on your computer. Reline does not detect WhatsApp calls on its own, so you start the recording yourself.
5. Ask whether you may record for notes. Once you hear a clear yes, press Record in Reline. The live transcript starts as people talk.
6. Stop the recording when you hang up. You get the transcript, an AI summary and the kept audio, with a play button on every transcript line.

• Language: 60+ languages with automatic language detection, so a call in Spanish, Portuguese or German is transcribed in that language.
• Speakers: the transcript is labeled Me vs Other (your microphone vs the call audio). In a group call, open Who is on the other side beside the record button and choose Separate speakers (beta): Reline numbers each voice on the call side (an estimate), and you click a voice to name it yourself. Reline does not read names from WhatsApp.
• Audio: the recording is kept with the note, so you can replay a line when the text looks wrong.

Not with WhatsApp, and not with Reline. WhatsApp describes no call transcript on iOS or Android, Reline has no mobile app, and it cannot capture a call on a separate phone. Apple’s guide to iPhone call recording describes calls made in the Phone app, with an audio notice to both people, and does not mention WhatsApp. Recorder apps for phones exist, but we have not tested them, so try one on a short call before you rely on it.

Putting the phone on speaker next to your laptop records a room, not a call: both voices reach the microphone, so Me vs Other cannot tell you from the other side, and the far voice is only as clear as the phone speaker. The beta Shared mic option can number the voices for you to name, but that is an estimate. If you know you want a transcript, start the call from your computer.

Only if someone recorded it. WhatsApp describes a call history, not a saved recording, so a call nobody recorded leaves nothing to transcribe.

• Microsoft Word: Transcribe, in Word for the web and in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows for commercial accounts, has an upload option for .wav, .mp4, .m4a and .mp3 files, with 300 minutes of uploaded audio a month on a Microsoft 365 subscription.
• Whisper: OpenAI’s open-source speech recognition is free under the MIT License. You install it yourself with Python and ffmpeg and run it from a command line, so it suits people who are comfortable with that.

There is one exception to "WhatsApp does not transcribe calls". Meta’s Calling API, part of the WhatsApp Business Platform, can transcribe calls a business makes or accepts through the Cloud API. It is opt-in for each call. A spoken announcement plays to both people before it starts, and either person can hang up. The transcript is typically ready within a minute of processing after the call, stays downloadable for 7 days and is free for now, with separate pricing planned. Meta’s page covers calls through the API and does not address calls between two personal accounts.

It is a developer feature, so your number has to be on the API and someone has to build on it. Business platforms offer ready-made options: Wati, for example, lists call recording, AI transcripts and summaries on its Pro and Business plans. If you use the regular WhatsApp app, none of this applies to your calls.

• Calls that are already over: with no audio or video upload, a finished recording stays with a file transcriber.
• Calls on your phone: there is no mobile app, and Reline only hears calls that play on the computer.
• Video: Reline keeps audio and a transcript, not the picture or a shared screen.
• Names from WhatsApp: the beta Separate speakers option only numbers voices for you to name.
• Older Macs: before macOS 13 only your microphone is recorded, so on macOS 12 you get your side of the call only.
• Windows sound: Reline records the whole default output device, not only WhatsApp. Wear a headset and mute other sounds.
• Offline use: transcription, summaries and storage run in the cloud. Only the capture is local.

The Free plan includes 10 hours of transcription. Install the desktop app before the call, not during it, and make a short test call with someone who knows it is a test, so you can see both sides appear in the transcript.

• WhatsApp, "WhatsApp Voice and Video Calling": whatsapp.com/calling
• WhatsApp blog, "Introducing voice message transcripts" (21 November 2024): blog.whatsapp.com/introducing-voice-message-transcripts
• WhatsApp blog, calling from WhatsApp Web (28 July 2026): blog.whatsapp.com/introducing-web-calling-on-whatsapp-plus-more-new-updates
• Meta for Developers, WhatsApp Business Platform, Calling API, call transcription and call recording: developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/calling/call-transcription
• Wati Help Center, "How to enable WhatsApp call recording, transcription, and summaries in Wati": support.wati.io
• Apple Support, "Record and transcribe a call on iPhone": support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/ipsfa513e1a6/web
• Microsoft Support, "Transcribe your recordings": support.microsoft.com
• OpenAI, Whisper: github.com/openai/whisper