Transcription Siri Dependency

Using WhatsApp transcription on an iOS device? Here’s what you need to know about Siri requirements.

What’s happening?

You might notice that:

• Transcription doesn’t work on your iOS device even when the feature appears available
• You receive a prompt to enable Siri when trying to use voice message transcription
• After disabling Siri, transcription functionality stops working

Why is this happening?

WhatsApp’s voice transcription feature on iOS devices relies on Apple’s Siri speech recognition technology. This integration allows WhatsApp to:

• Leverage Apple’s existing on-device speech recognition capabilities
• Process transcriptions locally on your device rather than in the cloud

Since the feature depends on Siri’s technology, it cannot function if Siri is disabled on your device, even if WhatsApp itself is fully updated.

What can you do?

• Enable Siri on your iOS device by going to Settings > Siri & Search
• Toggle on “Listen for ‘Hey Siri’” or “Press Side Button for Siri”
• If prompted by WhatsApp, allow access to Siri functionality
• If you prefer not to use Siri generally, you can enable it temporarily just for transcription needs
• Review Apple’s privacy policy regarding Siri to ensure you’re comfortable with how your data is used