Heineken has launched WhatsApp technology that swaps voice notes for real conversation over a beer as it seeks to revive the art of face-to-face interaction.

Though the initiative, which is launching as a pilot in Brazil, WhatsApp users over 18 who receive voice notes lasting three minutes or longer can exchange them for a free beer.

To redeem the offer, users must forward the voice note a private, encrypted bot.

They will then receive a message saying it ‘Could have been a Heineken’, alongside a voucher for a free beer and a recommendation of local bars to meet up with the friend in real life.

The beer manufacturer said that the project comes at a time when voice messages are becoming a new “distraction” that encourages people to “bury their heads in their smartphones” instead of making connections in real life.

It cited global data and business intelligence platform Statista, which reports that 9.4 billion WhatsApp voice notes are sent every day (equivalent to approximately 3.4 trillion over the course of a year). Compared to 2024, their frequency has increased by seven per cent and their length by eight per cent.

“We’ve all been sent voice notes that - instead of offering a quick update - turn into miniature podcasts lasting what seems like forever,” Said Heineken.

In particular, data provided by Heineken showed that over half (52 per cent) of respondents believe that voice messages are replacing real-life interactions, a percentage that rises to 60 per cent among gen Z.

Meanwhile, almost half (49 per cent) admit to spending entire evenings sending voice messages to a friend instead of meeting them in person, even though 54 per cent say they have the most fulfilling conversations face-to-face.

With this in mind, Brazil was chosen as the first country to test the pilot project, as official META data shows that Brazilians send four times more voice messages than people in any other country. However, Heineken has stated that it also wants to launch the pilot project in other global markets.

“Voice notes can feel more personal than reading a message, but what our research shows is that we need to make sure they don’t turn into mini-podcasts, and that we’re having two-way conversations rather than an extended monologue,” said Nabil Nasser, global head of Heineken.

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