Bring Translation Back to Your Browser: Meet Native Translate

If you copy and paste web content into cloud translators, you’re giving up both time and privacy. Native Translate brings translation back on-device with Chrome’s built‑in AI Translator and Language Detector. No cloud calls, no telemetry — your content never leaves your browser. Models download once, cache locally, and work offline with a clear progress overlay.

• Open‑source (MIT)

• Local‑first: translation and detection run on your device

• Privacy by design: zero external translation requests by default

• Fast and reliable: progress overlay, caching, RTL/LTR aware

• Minimal permissions, lightweight UI

Learn more and get it here: Native Translate

Why Local‑First Matters

• Privacy you can trust: Keep sensitive pages on your device — nothing is uploaded.

• Lower latency after first run: Cached models make repeated translations feel instant.

• More resilient: Works even when network conditions are poor or services are down.

What Makes Native Translate Different

• Full‑page, in‑page translation: Translated text is appended as a sibling line under original blocks — preserving layout and context.

• Hover‑to‑translate: Hold a modifier (Alt/Control/Shift) and hover a paragraph to translate just that block.

• On‑device language detection: Automatic source language detection with a progress overlay on first model download.

• Smart caching: Models cache per language pair for faster follow‑up translations.

• Direction‑aware rendering: Automatically respects LTR/RTL and alignment for the target language.

• Localized UI: Built with Chrome i18n for multiple interface languages.

Real‑World Use Cases

• Technical articles and papers: Read original + translation together without breaking structure or code blocks.

• News scanning: Use hover‑translate to skim only the paragraphs that matter.

• Workflows across languages: Reply to customers or read docs quickly while staying in context.

Get Started in Seconds

1. Click the toolbar icon to open the popup.

2. Pick a target language and your preferred hover modifier key.

3. Click “Translate current page” for full‑page translation, or hold the modifier and hover to translate just a block.

Notes:

• On first use, Chrome may download on‑device models; a small overlay shows progress.

• Some special pages (e.g., chrome://) do not allow script injection.

• Re‑running full‑page translate removes previous insertions and applies the new target language.

Privacy & Permissions

• No analytics, no tracking, no cloud translation by default.

• Everything runs inside the browser (service worker, content script, side panel).

• Works offline after model download and caching.

Permissions used:

• storage — Persist settings and readiness metadata

• activeTab, tabs — Interact with the current tab

• scripting — Inject content script if not yet loaded

• sidePanel — Optional side panel entry

For Developers

• Tech stack: React 19, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS v4, Radix UI

• Build system: Rspack (SWC), multi‑entry for Manifest V3

• Requirements: Chrome 138+; pnpm 9+

Roadmap

• Context menu translation and keyboard shortcuts

• Richer side panel (history, pinned favorites)

• Cross‑browser support where feasible

Try It Today

If you want a truly local‑first, privacy‑friendly translation experience, Native Translate is ready. Keep your content on your device, and get fast, layout‑preserving translation where you read.

Learn more and get it: Native Translate — product page