Translate WhatsApp messages on your Mac
Write in your own language and send the message in theirs. Typeferry shows the translation as you type, lets you check it, and places it in the WhatsApp message box when you press Enter. To read a reply, translate the chat window in place (Pro) or take a screenshot.
Typeferry is made for the Mac: macOS 15 or later, on Apple silicon and Intel. It isn’t available for iPhone or Android, where WhatsApp’s own message translation may already be in your app (it isn’t in the WhatsApp Business app yet).
Does WhatsApp on Mac translate messages?
As of 12 November 2026, WhatsApp’s Help Center lists the steps for translating messages on Android and iPhone. The Mac and web versions of the same article list no steps; they say translation “is only available on certain devices and may not be available to you yet.” The article covers messages already in a chat, ones you’ve sent or received. It doesn’t describe translating a message while you write it.
Typeferry covers both directions on your Mac: the message you’re writing, and the replies you receive.
Write in your language, send in theirs
Make sure Typeferry is on
After setup, Typeferry is already on: its menu bar icon is filled in. If it isn’t, press ⌃⌥T.
Type in the chat
Click into a WhatsApp chat and start typing in your own language, with the keyboard and input method you already use. The Typeferry bar opens by the message box. Pause for a moment and the translation appears, with a back-translation in your language beneath it.
Press Enter
Enter places the translation in WhatsApp’s message box. Read it over, then press Enter again to send. Typeferry never sends anything for you.
Check the meaning before you send
Beneath every translation, Typeferry turns the result back into your language, so you can catch a wrong word or number before you press Enter. If it spots a number or a day of the week that no longer matches what you typed, the line turns amber, and you can fix it before the message reaches your customer.
Back-translation is on by default, and you can turn it off at any time.
Read replies in your language
Window translation
Press ⌃⌥F and click the WhatsApp window, or drag to select part of it. Messages in other languages are translated in place, and new ones follow as they arrive. Hold ⌥ to see the original. Window translation is part of Pro.
Screenshot translation
Press ⌃⌥S, select the messages you want to read and click Translate. Each paragraph is translated and laid over the original in the same position, and you can copy either version. Free includes up to 3 online screenshot translations a day, with unlimited on-device translation after that. More about screenshot translation
Reply by voice
Hold ⌃⌥V, Typeferry’s voice key, and say your reply in your own language. Release it, and the translated text is placed in the message box, ready to check and send. Voice input works with the languages your Mac’s speech recognition supports, and it is part of Pro.
In the WhatsApp app for Mac
Typeferry works in the WhatsApp app for Mac and in most other apps where you type, such as Telegram, WeChat, Gmail and Slack. There is nothing to add to WhatsApp and no setting to change there.
In the Mac App Store version, the bar sits at the bottom of the window instead of by the message box, and you press ⌃⌥T the first time you use it in each app. Compare the two versions
What leaves your Mac
With online translation, only the text you are translating is sent. Email addresses, links, @handles and #order numbers that Typeferry recognizes are replaced with placeholders first, and the originals stay on your Mac. Choose On-device only, and none of your text is sent. Typeferry doesn’t sign in to WhatsApp or connect to your account. Privacy Policy
What it costs
Typeferry is free to start, with unlimited on-device translation, up to 20 online AI translations a day and up to 3 online screenshot translations a day. Pro is $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year. It adds window translation and voice input, and online translation with no daily count: up to 300,000 characters a day and 2,000,000 a month. See pricing
WhatsApp details checked on 12 November 2026 against the WhatsApp Help Center.
WhatsApp is a trademark of its respective owner. Typeferry is not affiliated with or endorsed by WhatsApp.
Questions
Will Typeferry send messages for me?
No. Enter fills the translation into the message box. You send it yourself, or press Enter once more after it has been filled in.
Is there a version for iPhone or Android?
No. Typeferry is made for the Mac, with macOS 15 or later.
Which languages can I write in?
Typeferry supports 21 languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Online translation works between any two of them. See the full list
How is this different from DeepL?
DeepL’s Mac app translates text you select or capture on screen and shows the result in its own window; its browser extension can translate messages in WhatsApp Web once they are written. Typeferry translates while you type, in the WhatsApp app for Mac, and shows a back-translation before you place the result in the message box. Typeferry and DeepL, side by side