Heineken has unveiled a new WhatsApp-based technology designed to curb the rise of long voice notes and encourage people to reconnect face-to-face, as digital communication increasingly replaces real-life social interactions.

Launched as a pilot in Brazil, the initiative targets a country where, according to official META data, users send four times more voice notes than any other market globally. The technology forms part of Heineken’s ongoing mission to champion in-real-life (IRL) socialising.

The launch follows global research polling 14,000 people, which found that the average person now spends almost 150 hours a year sending and receiving voice notes. More than half (52 per cent) of respondents said voice notes are replacing in-person interactions, rising to 60 per cent among Gen Z. Nearly half (49 per cent) admitted to spending entire evenings exchanging voice messages instead of meeting up, despite 54 per cent saying their most fulfilling conversations happen face-to-face.

New data from global data and business intelligence platform Statista underscores the scale of the trend, revealing that 9.4 billion WhatsApp voice notes are sent every day worldwide — equivalent to approximately 3.4 trillion messages annually. Compared with 2024, voice note frequency has increased by 7 per cent, while average message length has grown by 8 per cent.

“Our data suggests that voice notes are not just growing in frequency but also length,” said Stacy Jo Dixon, Social Media and Society Expert at Statista. “With nearly 9.5 billion voice notes sent daily on WhatsApp alone, it’s clear that voice messaging is reshaping how people communicate and increasingly competing with in-person interactions.”

Despite their popularity, engagement with voice notes appears limited. More than half (55 per cent) of users admit they often forget to listen to them, while 88 per cent say they struggle to remember what was said even after listening.

Nabil Nasser, Global Head of Heineken, said the brand wants to reverse this trend. “Just like we all know meetings that ‘could have been an email’, we’re now seeing voice notes that ‘could have been a Heineken’,” he said.

“Voice notes can feel more personal than text, but our research shows they risk becoming one-way monologues rather than meaningful conversations. At Heineken, we want to make it easier for people to share moments of socialisation in real life.”

The new ‘Could Have Been a Heineken’ WhatsApp bot allows users aged 18 and over to forward voice notes longer than three minutes to a private, encrypted bot. In return, users receive a message saying it “Could have been a Heineken”, along with a voucher for a free beer and recommendations for nearby bars where they can meet their friend in person.