Tungs

Real-time translation for WhatsApp calls

Route WhatsApp on your Mac through the Tungs devices and the conversation is translated in both directions while you talk.

Download for Mac

macOS 14 or later

How to set up Tungs for WhatsApp on Mac

Install Tungs, choose your two languages, then point WhatsApp's audio at the Tungs devices.

  1. STEP 1

    Set up Tungs first

    In Tungs, choose the language you speak and the language they speak, then select the microphone and headphones you actually use. Leave Tungs running alongside the call.

  2. STEP 2

    Set Tungs as the macOS input and output

    Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Sound in the sidebar, then click Output and select Tungs Speaker, and click Input and select Tungs Microphone. WhatsApp's Mac docs require "an audio output device and microphone connected to your computer for calls" and point you to your computer's sound settings to test them.

  3. STEP 3

    Grant WhatsApp microphone access

    WhatsApp needs access to your computer's microphone for calls, and to the camera as well for video calls. Approve the macOS prompt, or enable WhatsApp under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.

  4. STEP 4

    Open the call info or preview screen

    WhatsApp only documents a device picker before you join a group call: on an incoming group video call click Open to open the call info screen, and on an incoming group voice call click Settings to open a preview window before entering the call. Clicking an ongoing group call in the Calls tab also opens the call info screen.

  5. STEP 5

    Pick the devices on that screen

    On the group video call info screen click More, the three horizontal dots icon, which WhatsApp documents as changing "microphone, speaker and camera settings", and choose Tungs Microphone and Tungs Speaker. In the group voice preview window click the dropdown next to the microphone to open microphone settings and choose Tungs Microphone; no speaker picker is documented there.

  6. STEP 6

    Join the call

    Click Join on the group video call info screen, or Accept in the group voice preview window. For 1:1 calls and for any call you place yourself, WhatsApp documents no device picker, so step 1 is the only setup you can do in advance.

Steps follow WhatsApp’s own documentation: How to make a group video call (Mac Desktop) | WhatsApp Help Center How to make a group voice call (Mac Desktop) | WhatsApp Help Center How to make a 1:1 voice call (Mac Desktop) | WhatsApp Help Center Can't make WhatsApp voice calls (Mac Desktop) | WhatsApp Help Center

Worth knowing

  • WhatsApp's Mac troubleshooting articles list "Don't use a virtual audio device" for voice calls, and "Don't use a virtual camera or audio device" for video calls, among the steps for calls that are stuck reconnecting or immediately disconnected. WhatsApp gives no reason and does not state an incompatibility. If a WhatsApp call fails to connect, switch back to your built-in microphone and speaker to test whether Tungs is involved.
  • Device selection is documented only on the screens shown before you join a group call. During an active call, the More (three horizontal dots) icon is documented as sending an emoji, sharing your screen, or adding people, not as changing devices. WhatsApp for Mac has no documented app-wide audio settings page, and the docs never say whether a device choice is remembered between calls.
  • For a 1:1 voice call the Mac docs describe only muting or unmuting with the Microphone icon and End call, with no device picker at all. On an incoming 1:1 video call, More is documented as opening "microphone and video settings" only, with no speaker. Setting the System Settings > Sound defaults before dialling is the dependable route for those call types.
  • WhatsApp advises using a headset for the best audio and warns that "using a separate external microphone and speaker devices might cause echo". Routing through two separate virtual devices is exactly that split configuration, and WhatsApp documents no noise suppression, voice isolation, echo cancellation, or automatic microphone volume control that you could turn off.
  • Because 1:1 calls follow the macOS system input, turn echo cancellation off in Tungs and wear headphones for WhatsApp. With echo cancellation on, Tungs claims the system default input for your real microphone, which would leave WhatsApp sending your untranslated voice.

Questions

Does WhatsApp for Mac let me choose my microphone and speaker, or does it just follow macOS?

It has an in-app picker, but only on the screens shown before you join a group call. WhatsApp's group video call article for Mac says the More icon, shown as three horizontal dots, is used to change microphone, speaker and camera settings from the call info screen. There is no documented app-wide audio settings page, and 1:1 calls have no documented picker, so set Tungs Speaker and Tungs Microphone in System Settings > Sound as well. WhatsApp does not document whether the app otherwise follows the macOS defaults.

Where exactly do I change the microphone and speaker for a WhatsApp call?

Before you join, not during the call. On an incoming group video call, click Open to reach the call info screen, then More (three horizontal dots) for microphone, speaker and camera settings. On an incoming group voice call, click Settings to open a preview window, then the dropdown next to the microphone for microphone settings. During an active call, More is documented as sending an emoji, sharing your screen, or adding people instead.

WhatsApp says not to use a virtual audio device. Will Tungs break my calls?

That line appears in WhatsApp's Mac articles for calls that are stuck reconnecting or immediately disconnected, alongside advice like checking Wi-Fi and firewall ports. WhatsApp gives no explanation and does not describe it as an incompatibility, so it is an unexplained caution rather than a documented block. If a call does fail, switch your microphone and speaker back to physical devices to test, then decide whether Tungs was the cause.

Does the person I'm calling on WhatsApp need to install Tungs too?

No. Tungs runs only on your Mac, where it installs two virtual audio devices and translates the conversation in both directions across 13 languages. The other participant joins a normal WhatsApp call, installs nothing, and needs no Tungs account. Tungs requires macOS 14 or newer, while WhatsApp documents desktop calling as supported on macOS 12.1 and newer.

Other apps

Tungs is an audio device, so the same two devices work anywhere with a microphone and speaker menu.

13 languages — English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Indonesian, Vietnamese — with the spoken language detected automatically.