Messenger apps with built-in language translation, compared
Several messenger apps translate chat for you. Here is what they do well, where they fall short, and how Hashti handles 29 languages with live translation.
Yes, several messenger apps now translate messages for you, and they work differently. Some translate a message when you tap it. Some translate everything as it arrives. Some only translate a few languages. The right one depends on whether you need a quick gist or a real conversation. I built Hashti, which has live translation across 29 languages, so I have a stake in this. I will tell you what the options are, what I think they do well, and where Hashti is not the answer.
What "translation" can mean in a messenger
It sounds like one feature. It is really three.
Tap to translate. You see a message in a language you do not read, you tap it, and a translation appears. This is the simplest version and many big apps offer something like it.
Automatic translation. Messages arrive already translated, so a chat between two people in two languages looks like a normal chat for each of them.
Translation inside a community. This is the hard one. In a room with dozens of people speaking different languages, each person can read the conversation in their own language.
Before you pick an app, decide which of these you actually need.
The big apps
I will keep this to what is widely known, and I will say when something is my opinion.
Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger have all added some form of message translation over time, though the details change often and some of it depends on your phone. If you mostly talk to people you already know, and you only need to understand an occasional message, this is probably enough. It is also free and you already have it.
Google Translate has a conversation mode where two people speak and the app translates out loud. It is good for a single in-person conversation, like asking for directions. It is not a chat app, so it will not help you keep talking to someone next week.
Apple has its own Translate app and a translate option inside Messages. If your whole world is iPhones, that is convenient. It does not help you meet anyone new.
The limit of all of these is that they translate chats you already have. They do not help you find the people.
When you want to find people who speak another language
This is where I think the market is thin, and it is the reason I built Hashti.
Say you are Persian and you want to practice English with someone patient. Or you are Armenian and want to find others who speak Western Armenian. Or you moved to Los Angeles and miss talking in your first language. A translation button in an app you already use does not put those people in front of you.
Language exchange apps exist for this. They match you with partners for practice. They are good for learning. They are less good if you just want to talk about your day, or join a room about football or music with people from another country.
How Hashti does it
Hashti has public rooms with names and topics, plus private chats, calls and a walkie-talkie. Live translation covers 29 languages. You write in your language and the others read it in theirs, and the reverse.
The app is free and for adults only. It is out now on the App Store, and Android is in its closed test. Live translation is part of Hashti Plus, which costs $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. Everything else is free, so you can join rooms and chat without paying.
You can see how it works on the translation page, and browse what is happening on the rooms page.
Safety matters more with strangers
When you talk across languages, you often talk to people you do not know. That raises the question of who is on the other side.
On Hashti you verify identity 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. If twelve verified people report an account, it is closed permanently.
I explain the details on the safety page. I would rather you know how it works than take my word for it.
Where Hashti falls short
Translation is not perfect. No machine translation is. Idioms, jokes and slang can come out strange, and that is true of every app. Treat it as a bridge, not a guarantee. For anything important, such as a contract or a medical question, use a human translator.
The app's own interface is English today. A Farsi version is being built, but if you need menus in another language right now, Hashti does not have that yet.
Translation costs money. If you only need the occasional tap-to-translate in an app you already use, you do not need Hashti Plus.
Hashti is not a dating app and it is not for teenagers. It is for adults who want to talk.
Which one should you pick
If you want to understand the odd message from a friend, use the translation built into the app you already have.
If you need to talk to one person face to face right now, use Google Translate's conversation mode or Apple's Translate.
If you want to practice a language and be matched with a partner, a language exchange app is probably better than a chat room.
If you want to find your own people, in your language or across languages, and talk to them in a room that is checked for real accounts, that is what Hashti is for.
A few tips for chatting across languages
Keep sentences short. Translation works better on short, plain sentences than on long ones with several ideas.
Avoid slang and idioms with people you just met. Say what you mean in the plainest way.
If something reads strangely, ask again in different words instead of guessing.
Be patient. The person on the other side may be translating you too, and may be as careful as you are.
Learn a few words in their language. Even a greeting changes the mood of a conversation.
Why I care about this
I am Armenian-Iranian and I live in Los Angeles. I grew up between languages, and I know the feeling of being fluent in a feeling but not in the words. Many people I know are the same. They have a family in one country, a job in another and friends everywhere.
I wanted a place where you could walk into a room and be understood. The translation is part of that, but the larger part is that the room is full of real people. If that sounds like something you have been looking for, open the rooms and see who is talking.
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.