Can You Translate a WhatsApp Video Call?
Last updated: October 2026 · 6 min read
Not inside WhatsApp. WhatsApp translates text messages, not calls. There are two ways around it: your phone's own call translation, which on supported Samsung Galaxy phones works inside a WhatsApp call, or a translated call that you send as a link in the WhatsApp chat. Here is what each involves.
What WhatsApp can translate
Text messages. Since September 2025, WhatsApp can translate a message in a one-to-one chat, a group or a Channel: press and hold the message, then tap Translate. On Android you can also turn on automatic translation for a whole chat. WhatsApp says the translation happens on your phone, where WhatsApp cannot see it. The languages on offer depend on your phone, and the feature is not in the WhatsApp Business app.
That is the whole feature. Nothing in WhatsApp translates what people say on a voice or video call, and as of October 2026 WhatsApp has not announced that it will.
Does your phone translate WhatsApp calls?
- Samsung Galaxy: yes, on supported models. Live Translate with Galaxy AI works in some other calling apps, and Samsung lists WhatsApp among them. It speaks the translation aloud and shows it on screen, and only one of you needs the Galaxy. Turn it on in Settings › Galaxy AI › Call assist › Live translate in other apps, then start it from the quick settings panel during the call. It needs a supported phone or tablet on One UI 6.1 or later, and covers around twenty languages.
- iPhone: not in WhatsApp. Apple's Live Translation works in the Phone app, where it speaks the translation, and in FaceTime, where it shows captions and both of you need Apple devices. It needs an iPhone 15 Pro or later with Apple Intelligence, and WhatsApp is not one of the apps it works in.
- Google Pixel: not in WhatsApp. Pixel 10 and later translate calls in the Phone app, and Google's pages do not mention WhatsApp.
If one of you has a supported Galaxy phone and your languages are on Samsung's list, try that first: it keeps you on the WhatsApp call you were going to make anyway.
What “WhatsApp call translator” apps actually do
They work around WhatsApp, not inside it. Android and iPhone do not let another app hear a call's audio, so these apps take one of three routes:
- A link. You send a link in the WhatsApp chat and the other person joins the app's own call. The translated call is no longer a WhatsApp call.
- The speaker. You put the WhatsApp call on speaker, and the app listens through the microphone and shows captions on top of WhatsApp. It hears the room as well as the call.
- A second number. A few give you another phone number and translate calls made through it.
Read the privacy label and the pricing in the app store before you install one.
How to send a translated video call in WhatsApp
The link route works on any phone and needs no special permissions. With VivaLingua:
- Install VivaLingua and pick your language. You host, so you are the one with the app, on iPhone or Android. Your first 60 minutes are free.
- Tap Invite by link and choose WhatsApp. For a call, the waiting room opens first and your phone's share sheet appears by itself; pick the chat.
- They tap the link. It opens in their browser. They choose their language, agree to how their speech is processed, confirm they are 18 or older, and join you in the waiting room. Nothing to install, no account.
- Start the call. When they turn on Available to talk now, you tap Start call. Waiting is free, and the room closes after 30 minutes.
- Talk. Each of you speaks your own language and hears the other in seconds, spoken aloud, with captions on screen at the same moment.
You keep one link, so you can pin it in the chat and use the same one every time.
How it differs from a WhatsApp call
- It is a separate call. WhatsApp is only where you send the link.
- Only the host pays. You spend prepaid minutes, from $2.99 for 30, with no subscription; on a call they run from the moment it connects until it ends. The person you invite joins free.
- It is not end-to-end encrypted. A WhatsApp call is. A translated call cannot be, because the translator has to hear what you say. VivaLingua does not record calls or keep a transcript, and the privacy policy names every company that processes your speech.
- There is a short pause. Each sentence arrives about 2 to 3 seconds after you finish it, a bit like talking through an interpreter. Finish your thought, then pause.
- A video call is for the two of you. It takes one guest. In person, you can let in more than one.
Prefer the browser at both ends?
VideoCallTranslator, from the same company, works the same way without any app: you create a room on the website, paste its link into the WhatsApp chat, and the call runs in the browser for both of you. The room link keeps working until you close the room. It is for two people, covers the same 41 languages, and new accounts start with 30 free minutes.
When to stay on WhatsApp
When you share a language. When you only need to text: WhatsApp's own message translation is free and stays on your phone. When the conversation has to be end-to-end encrypted. And for anything legal or medical, use a professional interpreter rather than any machine translation.
If the call you want is with someone who speaks another language, try VivaLingua. Send the link in WhatsApp, and they join from their browser for free.