Meta's WhatsApp Price Hike Threatens Israeli Transcription Bot for the Deaf

Meta has significantly increased prices for its WhatsApp Business API, a move that threatens to shut down "Eliezer," a popular Israeli volunteer-run bot that transcribes voice messages for the deaf and hard of hearing. Previously, WhatsApp offered a free 24-hour service window for business interactions. However, Meta has shifted to charging per individual message, causing operational costs for independent services to skyrocket.

Eliezer, developed by the non-profit ivrit.ai, was a vital tool, handling up to 120 messages per minute, transcribing approximately 10,000 audio hours monthly, and serving around 20,000 daily users. The price change could have escalated its monthly costs from a mere dollar to $5,000, an unsustainable amount for a project funded by modest community donations of about $500 per month.

In response, the developers, including co-founder Yair Lifshitz, have rerouted transcriptions to alternative platforms like Telegram or a newly developed tool called Communicator. This workaround has drastically reduced usage to about 2,500 users, with projections of losing up to three-quarters of daily users by the end of the day. Lifshitz criticized Meta's actions as "monopolistic behavior," arguing that the new pricing is disproportionate to actual costs and that Meta dominates the instant messaging market in Israel.

The most severe impact is on Israel's deaf and hard-of-hearing community, for whom Eliezer was a crucial communication channel. The bot's transition to external platforms has created technical hurdles and added complexity to their daily interactions. While the developers are offering their Communicator tool for free to businesses needing to send messages to customers, they are struggling to retain users and are seeking help from relevant contacts at Meta, journalists, or competition lawyers.

Lifshitz also pointed out that while Apple's iOS offers built-in transcription, it is less accurate in Hebrew than Eliezer's, and many Israelis use Android devices, which lack this feature entirely, making Eliezer a unique solution for millions. Meta Israel had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.