WhatsApp has introduced built-in message translations on iPhone so you can convert incoming texts into your preferred language without leaving the app. The feature aims to make cross-language chats feel natural and immediate, removing the friction of copying messages into separate translation tools.
Meta says translations on iPhone support 19+ languages at launch, with on-device processing to protect privacy. You can long-press any message and tap Translate, then choose the language to translate from or to. iPhone handles this natively so the experience stays within WhatsApp, and you can change your default translation language in settings at any time.
The rollout starts now for iPhone, with broader expansion to follow. On Android, translations initially support six languages and add an extra convenience option to automatically translate all future messages in a selected chat thread. For iPhone users, the broader language coverage reflects Apple’s translation stack and regional language variants, which helps in markets where people switch between multiple locales.
At launch, WhatsApp message translations on iPhone are available in these locales:
- Arabic
- Dutch
- English (United Kingdom)
- English (United States)
- French (France)
- German (Germany)
- Hindi
- Indonesian
- Italian (Italy)
- Japanese
- Korean
- Mandarin Chinese (China mainland)
- Mandarin Chinese (Taiwan)
- Polish
- Portuguese (Brazil)
- Russian
- Spanish (Spain)
- Thai
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Vietnamese
Translations occur on your device, so WhatsApp cannot see translated content. The feature works in 1:1 chats, groups, and Channel updates, which makes it useful for personal and community conversations alike. You can also download languages for faster, offline-ready translations, and adjust preferences later if you regularly chat across different locales.
WhatsApp plans to expand language availability over time. For now, this initial set should cover the most common cross-language conversations, especially across regions like the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and Europe where multilingual messaging is part of everyday communication.
