While Google Live Translate is excellent for translating whatever is on your screen without leaving the app, it’s limited to Google Pixel phones. Even some of the best Android phones don’t support it. But with Telegram’s in-app translation tool, you can quickly and easily translate messages from friends from the other side of the world. And for that, you don’t need to leave the chat window.
How to enable translations in Telegram
Telegram has a dedicated section to choose your preferred language. You can enable message translation in the same section. Here’s how to enable the new feature:
We used an Android for this tutorial, but Apple fans need not worry, as the process is the same in the iPhone app.
- Open the Telegram app and tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the upper-left corner of the homepage.
- Go to Settings.
- Open Language.
- Toggle on Show Translate Button.
How to exclude languages from translation
The multilingual among us can easily do without automated translations. The Telegram app lets you exclude your native language or those you’re fluent in from the same settings menu.
- After enabling translation in Telegram using the steps above, a new option called Do Not Translate appears. Tap it.
- On the next screen, use the checkboxes to mark the languages you don’t need a translation.
- And that’s it.
How to translate Telegram messages
With the translation feature enabled in the app, it just takes a couple of taps to convert your messages in real time. This is what you do:
- Select a conversation, and tap the message you’d like to translate to open a pop-up menu.
- From the list of options, tap Translate to let the app automatically identify the message language.
- You’ll see the message translated into English (or the default language you use Telegram in).
- Tap Close Translation when you’re done to go back to the chat thread and continue messaging.
Telegram for Android is trailing its iOS counterpart
While the Telegram app for Android and iOS added this nifty translation option, the iPhone version offered more features from the get-go, which the Android app is getting only now. For instance, Telegram for Android now lets you change the translation language from the chat window, which the iOS app could do earlier.
You have the option to copy the translated text with a long press, but the iOS app offers a direct button to do that with a single tap. One area where both platforms lag is the list of supported languages. Telegram can translate to over two dozen languages, but it still has some glaring omissions, like Hindi, which Google, Telegram’s translation services provider, supports among many other Indic languages.
Privacy may be a concern
Google Translate is among the most reliable translators on the internet (though Bing is catching up). However, Telegram’s partnership with the search giant means your messages go through Google’s servers to get translated. You can stop using the feature if you don’t want a third party accessing your messages.
We would have liked to see an iPhone-like implementation, where translation happens entirely offline, adding an extra layer of privacy for the users. But that isn’t possible currently. What you can do instead is avoid running any sensitive message through Telegram’s translation option while continuing to use the feature for other texts.
Do more with Telegram
Telegram is the richest messaging app among its peers. Besides this built-in translation tool, you can share large files, use spoiler styling, send secret messages, and do much more to keep your chats safe and secure. Telegram also has a premium tier that unlocks more features and raises the files and group limits for a small monthly fee. If you think you’re a power Telegram user, Telegram Premium is made for you!
