Live translated captions for voice and video calls in WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, Skype, FaceTime, and any desktop app.
Your sister calls from Barcelona on WhatsApp desktop and speaks only Spanish. A freelance client schedules a Slack huddle but their English is limited. Your partner's parents join a FaceTime call on your Mac and the conversation switches to Cantonese. Desktop calling apps rarely offer live translation, and when they do it's restricted to a handful of platforms or requires both sides to install the same software. Translext listens to the call audio on your computer and shows you what the other person is saying, translated into your language, in a small window that floats over the call.
Translext does not translate your voice for them. It shows you captions of their speech, translated. This is a reading tool for your side of the call, not an interpretation service that runs both directions. You still reply in whatever shared language you have, or you type messages, or you point at things on camera. The captions let you follow what they're saying when the language gap is one-way or when you understand some words but miss the fast or complex parts. Wear headphones so the call audio doesn't loop back into your microphone.
Desktop apps like Zoom, Teams, Discord, and Skype run outside the browser, so Translext cannot hear them the same way it hears a Chrome tab. Instead you share your computer's system audio with Chrome. Click the Translext icon, choose Computer audio as the source, then click the button to start sharing. Chrome opens a picker showing your screens, windows, and tabs. Choose Entire screen at the top. Below the thumbnail, find the checkbox labeled Share system audio or Share audio and switch it on, then click Share. Translext immediately hides the screen preview—it only needs the sound stream—and opens a small floating caption window. That window stays on top of your call app and updates as the other person speaks. On macOS 14.2 or later, you must also grant Chrome permission under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording before the audio will flow.
The floating window shows each sentence as it completes, not word by word, so there is a short lag between when someone finishes speaking and when the caption appears. If the other person talks quickly without pauses, Translext waits for a natural break and then displays a longer block of text. This works well for regular conversation but can fall behind during arguments or overlapping speech. Audio quality matters: calls over weak WiFi or cellular connections produce choppy sound, and Translext will skip or misinterpret fragments. Background noise on their end—typing, traffic, kids—sometimes gets picked up as words. Live translation makes mistakes with names, slang, and technical terms. The captions are a guide, not a transcript you would cite. You can review the session history later to check a phrase, but treat it as rough notes.
Translext does not inject translated audio into the call. The other person hears your normal voice in whatever language you choose to speak. You see their words translated on your screen. This asymmetry is useful when you need to understand a language but can reply in English or another shared language, or when the call is mostly them explaining something and you listening. It does not replace an interpreter for serious two-way conversations like medical consultations or legal meetings. Some people tell the other person they're using live captions; some don't. If you're reading captions on a family call, your delayed reactions might seem odd on camera unless you mention it. Use headphones or earbuds so the call audio stays private and doesn't echo back through your microphone, which would create feedback and confuse anyone trying to speak.
No. Translext shows you captions of what the other person says; it does not send translation back into the call or create captions on their screen. They hear your original voice. For two-way translation you would both need to run Translext independently on your own computers, each seeing captions of the other, and you would still speak in your own languages. That works only if both people have Translext accounts and are comfortable with the setup.
Chrome can only capture system audio when you share an entire screen, not an individual window or tab. The browser's screen-sharing API bundles computer sound with the full screen stream. Translext immediately turns off the video portion and uses only the audio channel, so no picture is processed or sent anywhere. You must choose Entire screen in the picker and switch on Share system audio for the sound to reach Translext. Sharing a single window will not work.
Yes. The Translext caption window floats above all other applications and remains visible when you switch apps, minimize the call, or move to a different desktop workspace. You can drag the caption window anywhere on your screen. The captions continue as long as the call audio is playing and the system audio share is active, even if the call app is in the background or covered by other windows. Closing the call or ending the screen share stops the captions.
Translext detects the spoken language automatically and switches when the language changes, so a group call where people alternate between Spanish and English will produce captions in your chosen target language for both. However, Translext cannot tell you who is speaking. All voices are captioned in a single stream without speaker labels. If two people talk over each other, the audio conflicts and the captions will be incomplete or garbled. Group calls work best when participants take turns speaking clearly.
Yes, as long as the app runs on Windows, ChromeOS, or macOS 14.2 or later. WhatsApp desktop, Discord desktop, and similar applications are ordinary computer programs, and Translext captures their audio through system audio sharing the same way it handles Zoom or Skype. Mobile phone calls made on an iPhone or Android device are not accessible to Translext because the extension runs only in desktop Chrome and Edge. You cannot translate a call happening on your phone.
Translated captions and optional audio translation for online meetings, video calls and videos — in Chrome or any app on your computer. No bots to invite, nothing to upload.