How to Use Translation Apps and Extensions Without Sacrificing Your Privacy
When you want to translate something, the easiest option is often a free translation service like Google Translate. But you should avoid inserting sensitive information into free translation services, as your data may be exposed to the public or used for advertising. (Generally, if you have very sensitive information that needs to be translated, you should draw up a non-disclosure agreement and hire a translator you can trust.) But if you want to translate not-so-sensitive information while maintaining your privacy, consider the following: privacy oriented translation services.
Firefox translations
Mozilla has developed a Firefox add-on called Firefox Translations that automatically translates web pages for you. The service runs locally on the client side which means your data doesn’t leave your device and it currently supports Bulgarian, Czech, English, Estonian, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish so it lacks a few languages but it works well with the ones it supports. Other languages such as Farsi, Icelandic, Norwegian and Russian are in development.
Apple Translator
Apple provides a translation service with your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and it can translate between Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. It uses Apple servers by default, but you can force it to take everything offline for more privacy.
Vivaldi Translation
Vivaldi Translate is built into the browser, supports 108 languages - way more than Firefox or Apple – and is designed to be privacy friendly. You can decide whether you want to translate every web page automatically or have the browser ask you every time if you want to translate the page.
Offline translation apps aren’t necessarily better
Using your translation app offline is far from ideal for privacy-conscious people, but it’s better than nothing: your favorite translation services probably have offline mode, which means you can disconnect your devices from the internet and continue to use their services and your data. will not be immediately sent to any remote server. The downside is that there’s nothing to stop these apps from sending data to their servers once you’re back online. Apps like Google Translate and Microsoft Translate offer good offline translation options.
Or you can use a special translator device
If you really need a private translation, consider buying a dedicated translation device. For around $100-$250, you can find good translation devices that provide offline translation support. You can check out some options on sites like Amazon, but be sure to pick a model that supports the languages you need, supports offline translation, and doesn’t require you to connect to your smartphone.