Messaging app with translation: what actually works
A messaging app with translation can help you talk across languages. What works, what does not, and how Hashti's live translation for 29 languages compares.
The honest answer is that you have three options. Some messaging apps translate messages inside the chat. Some people copy text into a separate translator like Google Translate or DeepL. And a few apps, including mine, build live translation into rooms where people who do not share a language meet. Which one is right depends on whether you are talking to people you already know or trying to meet new ones. Here is how I think about it, with the limits of each, including the limits of Hashti.
Why I care about this
I am Armenian-Iranian and I live in Los Angeles. My family speaks Armenian, Persian and English, and sometimes all three in one sentence. I grew up translating for people, and I have watched how much gets lost when someone has to write in their second language. They sound blunter than they are, or more formal, or they say less than they mean. Good translation does not fix that completely, but it lets people speak in the language they are comfortable in, and that changes who joins the conversation.
I built Hashti partly because of that. I also sell a paid plan that includes translation, so weigh my opinion accordingly. I will tell you where it falls short.
Option 1: translation built into a mainstream messenger
Several big messengers have added some form of message translation over the years. Features like this change often, and they differ by app, by platform and sometimes by country or plan. I am not going to list who has what, because I would be guessing and it would be out of date within months. The better advice is to open the app you already use, long-press a message in a foreign language, and see whether a translate option appears. If it does, that may be all you need for chatting with a friend or a relative.
The strength of this route is that your people are already there. Nobody has to install anything new. The weakness is that it works message by message. It is a tool for reading something you were sent, not a space designed for people who do not share a language.
Option 2: copy, paste and a separate translator
This is what most of us actually do. You paste the text into Google Translate, DeepL or a similar tool and paste the answer back.
It works for a surprising number of cases, especially for longer written messages where you can take your time. It also has real costs.
- It is slow, so a fast conversation falls apart.
- You lose the flow, and the other person waits.
- You are sending the text to a third-party service. Think about that before pasting anything private.
- You cannot easily check the result in a language you do not read.
For an occasional email or a letter to a relative, it is fine. For a live chat, it is tiring.
Option 3: a place where translation is part of the room
This is the idea behind Hashti. Instead of translating one message at a time inside a chat you already have, you join a room, and the translation is part of how the room works. A Persian speaker and an English speaker can follow the same conversation without either of them leaving their language.
Here is what is true about it today.
- 29 languages. Live translation covers 29 languages.
- It is part of Hashti Plus. Plus costs $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. Everything else in the app is free, including public rooms with names and topics and private chats, calls and a walkie-talkie.
- 18+ only. Hashti is for adults.
- Out now on the App Store. Android is in its closed test, so if you are on Android you cannot install it yet.
- The app itself is in English. A Farsi interface is being built. For now, translation helps you read and write across languages, but the menus and buttons are English.
You can read how the feature works on the translation page.
What translation can and cannot do
I want to be careful here, because translation is oversold everywhere.
It is good at meaning, not at everything. Machine translation is usually good enough to understand someone and be understood. It is less reliable with slang, humour, idioms, poetry and anything that depends on culture. Persian is a good example. Taarof, the polite back-and-forth of offering and refusing, can come out sounding literal and strange. The same goes for Armenian proverbs. Expect to understand the point, and expect an occasional odd line.
Languages are not equal. Translation between two widely used languages tends to be better than translation between two smaller ones. I would rather tell you that than imply every pair is equally good. If your pair is less common, test it with a short conversation before you rely on it.
It does not replace learning the language. If your goal is to speak Armenian with your grandmother, translation is a bridge, not the destination. Many people use translation as training wheels. They read the original next to the translation and pick up more each week.
Do not use it for anything important without checking. Legal documents, medical instructions and contracts need a human translator. A chat app is the wrong tool for those, whatever it is called.
Translation is only half of it: who is on the other side
A translation feature gives you the ability to talk to anyone. That is only useful if the person on the other side is who they say they are.
This is the part people forget. If you open translation to strangers on an app with no verification, you get more strangers, faster, in more languages, including the ones trying to scam you. That is why I built Hashti with identity checks first. You verify once against a government document. The photo is deleted, and a fingerprint stays, so the same document cannot open a second account. Unverified accounts cannot host rooms, speak in voice rooms or message strangers. Twelve verified reports closes an account permanently. The safety page explains it in more detail.
You may not want to hand a document to any app, and that is a fair choice. If so, use translation inside a messenger with people you already know, and keep strangers out.
Which one should you use?
- Talking to family or friends who speak another language: use the translate option in the messenger you already have, if it has one. Otherwise, a separate translator works.
- Reading or writing something long and careful: copy it into a dedicated translator, read the result slowly, and ask a human to check anything that matters.
- Meeting new people across languages in a live room: this is where an app built for it makes sense. Hashti is one option, and the rooms page shows what a room looks like. If you are on Android, wait for the release, or use another tool in the meantime.
- Learning a language: use translation as support, not as a replacement. Talk to native speakers and keep the original text visible.
A few habits that make translated chats better
1. Write short sentences. Machine translation handles them far better than long, winding ones. 2. Avoid slang and idioms when you can. Say what you mean in plain words. 3. If something sounds odd, ask. "Did you mean this?" is friendly in any language. 4. Be patient with mistakes in both directions. 5. Never share financial details or an OTP in any chat, translated or not.
If you want people to understand you across a language gap, the technology helps, but the habits do as much work. Keep it simple, stay curious, and pick the tool that fits the conversation you are actually having.
Hashti is free, and it is 18+. Hashti Plus — live translation, writing help and catch-ups — is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, and nothing else costs anything. How rooms work is on the rooms page, and how reports and the ID check work is on the safety page.