# How to change the language in WhatsApp on Android and iPhone > On Android, open WhatsApp Settings → Chats → App language and pick from the list. On iPhone there is no setting inside WhatsApp — go to the iOS Settings app, scroll to WhatsApp, tap Language and choose there. Either way it changes the interface only; it does not translate messages. Source: https://vobo.online/change-whatsapp-language Updated: 2026-08-29 ## Key takeaways - Android: Settings → Chats → App language. iPhone: iOS Settings → WhatsApp → Language. - It changes the interface, not your messages. WhatsApp has no built-in translation. - Setting it to 'Phone's language' follows the system and is the sensible default. - Your keyboard language is separate and is controlled by the phone, not by WhatsApp. ## Android ### Changing the language on Android 1. **Open WhatsApp Settings** — Tap the three-dot menu at the top right, then Settings. 2. **Tap Chats** — The same screen that holds themes, wallpaper and chat backup. 3. **Tap 'App language'** — It sits near the top. Older versions label it 'App language' under Chats; some newer builds move it to Settings → App language directly. 4. **Choose a language** — The list is long — WhatsApp ships in more than sixty. 'Phone's language' follows the system setting and is the option to pick if you are unsure. 5. **The interface changes immediately** — No restart is needed. If a few strings stay in the old language, close and reopen the app. On Android 13 and later there is a second route through the operating system: Settings → Apps → WhatsApp → Language. Android's per-app language feature and WhatsApp's own setting do the same job, and setting either one is enough. ## iPhone There is no language setting inside WhatsApp on iOS, and people spend a long time looking for one. iOS handles per-app language itself. ### Changing the language on iPhone 1. **Open the iOS Settings app** — The grey gear icon on the home screen — not WhatsApp's own settings. 2. **Scroll down to WhatsApp** — Apps are listed alphabetically toward the bottom of the Settings list. 3. **Tap Language** — This shows the languages WhatsApp supports that are also configured on your phone. 4. **If the language you want is missing** — Add it first at Settings → General → Language & Region → Preferred Languages → Add Language. It then appears in WhatsApp's per-app list. > **Why the two platforms differ** — iOS provides per-app language as a system feature, so apps are discouraged from building their own. Android only added an equivalent in Android 13, so WhatsApp shipped its own setting long before — and kept it, since most Android users worldwide are on older versions. **Figure: Which setting controls what** Four different settings get confused with each other constantly. - App — App language — menus and buttons inside WhatsApp - Keyboard — Keyboard language — what you can type, set by the phone - Phone — System language — everything else on the device - None — Message content — WhatsApp never translates anything ## What the setting does not change **Language settings and what each one governs** | Setting | Controls | Where it lives | | --- | --- | --- | | App language | Menus, buttons and system messages in WhatsApp | WhatsApp Settings (Android) or iOS Settings (iPhone) | | Keyboard language | What you can type, including scripts and autocorrect | The phone's keyboard settings | | Message content | Nothing — messages arrive as written | Not controllable; WhatsApp does not translate | | Contact names | Nothing — they come from your address book | Your phone's contacts app | | Phone language | Everything else on the device | The phone's system settings | The most common disappointment here is discovering that WhatsApp has no built-in translation. Messages arrive exactly as they were written, in whatever language the sender used, and no app setting changes that. ## Reading messages in another language Since WhatsApp does not translate, the practical routes are outside the app. 1. Long-press a message, copy it, and paste it into a translation app or website. Reliable and works everywhere. 2. On Android, some phones offer translation directly in the text-selection menu, which saves the copy and paste. 3. iOS offers a system Translate action when you select text on recent versions. 4. Some keyboards can translate as you type, which handles the outgoing direction. > **Editor's note** — Be careful with third-party apps that promise in-line WhatsApp translation. Doing that properly requires reading your messages, which means either a modified WhatsApp client — a ban risk and a common malware vector, as covered in [how to update WhatsApp](/update-whatsapp) — or an accessibility service with sweeping permissions over your screen. Copying and pasting into a translator is slower and considerably safer. ## Typing in another script The keyboard is entirely separate from WhatsApp's language setting, and is where the actual work happens if you write in more than one language. - Android: Settings → System → Languages & input → On-screen keyboard, then add languages to your keyboard. Switch with the globe key. - iPhone: Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard. Switch with the globe key. - Both platforms let you keep multiple keyboards active and swap mid-message, which is how most bilingual users work. - Voice notes sidestep the whole problem, which is one reason they are so heavily used in multilingual markets — a point that comes up in [why people use WhatsApp](/why-people-use-whatsapp). ## When the setting will not stick 1. Some strings stay in the old language — close and reopen WhatsApp. A few interface elements are cached until restart. 2. The language is not in the list — WhatsApp supports a large but finite set. On iPhone, the language must also be added to the phone's preferred languages first. 3. The whole phone changed language instead — you edited the system language rather than the per-app one. On iPhone the per-app setting is under WhatsApp specifically, not under General. 4. The setting has moved — WhatsApp occasionally relocates it between Settings → Chats and the top level of Settings. Look in both. 5. You cannot find it at all on iPhone — that is expected. It is not in WhatsApp; it is in iOS Settings. If the app is misbehaving more broadly than a stubborn menu label, work through [why WhatsApp is not working](/whatsapp-not-working). ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I change the WhatsApp language on Android? Open WhatsApp Settings → Chats → App language and choose from the list. On Android 13 and later you can also use Settings → Apps → WhatsApp → Language, which does the same thing. ### Why is there no language setting in WhatsApp on my iPhone? Because iOS handles per-app language itself. Go to the iOS Settings app, scroll to WhatsApp and tap Language. If the language you want is missing, add it first under General → Language & Region. ### Does changing the WhatsApp language translate my messages? No. It changes menus, buttons and system messages only. WhatsApp has no built-in translation, so messages arrive in whatever language the sender wrote them. ### Can I use a different language in WhatsApp than on the rest of my phone? Yes. Both platforms support a per-app language that differs from the system language — WhatsApp's own setting on Android, and iOS Settings → WhatsApp → Language on iPhone. ## Sources - [How to change your app language](https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/chats/how-to-change-your-app-language) — WhatsApp Help Center. Supports: The Android in-app language setting and that iPhone users change it through iOS Settings instead. - [How to update WhatsApp](https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/download-and-installation/how-to-update-whatsapp) — WhatsApp Help Center. Supports: That only official store builds are supported, which is the basis for the warning about translation apps that modify the client.