WhatsApp officially introduced Fast Playback in June 2021. The feature - which was first rumoured back in March 2021 - enables users to speed up the playback of voice messages, consequently reducing the time to listen to them.
Voice messages are great. They allow users to send more information without having to type it all in a message. They are also a little more personal than a written message, and they help to get the right context across, some of which can be lost in a message.
The problem with them however, is that they can take quite a long time to listen to if you have a particularly chatty friend. Fast Playback helps with that. There are three settings available to choose from - 1x, 1.5x and 2x - none of which change the pitch of the person's voice.
Here's how to use Fast Playback on WhatsApp.
How to speed up voice messages on WhatsApp
To speed up voice messages on WhatsApp, follow the steps below:
- Open WhatsApp
- Tap on the play icon of the voice message you want to speed up
- Tap on the 1x on the voice message to change it to 1.5x - the 1x icon will appear when you press play
- Tap the 1.5x icon to change it to 2x
- Tap the 2x icon to change it back to the default 1x speed
- That's it. Simples.
How to get the WhatsApp Fast Playback feature
The WhatsApp Fast Playback feature is available on the WhatsApp iOS and Android apps, as well as WhatsApp Desktop and WhatsApp web. To get it, make sure you are running the lastest version of WhatsApp.
You need to make sure you're running version 2.21.101 or later. Open the App Store on iOS or Google Play Store on Android, search for WhatsApp and make sure it's on the latest version.