WhatsApp lets users listen back to voice messages before sending

WhatsApp has added a feature that allows users to mute and listen to their voice messages before sending them. Previously, the chat app always sent voice messages immediately, if they were not already discarded during recording.

To stop a voice message, users must swipe up the microphone icon and press the square stop button. From there is it possible to listen back, delete or send the message. If users do not swipe up, the voice message will be sent automatically as before when the microphone icon is released. In addition to iOS and Android, the function also works on the desktop app, where the stop button is immediately displayed.

The feature was already discovered by WABetainfo in October in a beta version of the chat app. Unlike that version, it is now not possible to pause the voice message and then resume, but that function may appear separately in a future update. WhatsApp appears to be working on a voice recording transcription feature and an option to continue listening to voice messages while users are out of chat.