Forget Google Translate – This language tool translates 100+ languages and protects your privacy
Polyglots don’t have this problem, but many of us yearn for the day that we can pop a device into our ears and instantly translate foreign languages. The Babel fish translator from Douglas Adams’ excellent The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy comes to mind.
But until technology catches up with our hopes and dreams, we must settle for learning the language or using online translators. There are plenty of services that can do that for us, but they aren’t always focused on privacy.
Translations become even more tricky when you want to stay private. But that is about to change, as a privacy-focused search engine just integrated translation into its software.
Here’s the backstory
By some estimates, over 100 billion translations are completed every day. But the biggest stumbling block for those who want to do it privatly is that most services log your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and often your IP address.
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Fortunately, the private search engine StartPage has now added a translation option to its search engine. This means if you value privacy, you can translate words or phrases without fear of being tracked.
The functionality is accessed by simply typing “translate” into the search box. It will display the translation box on the first results page. From there, you simply choose the languages you want to work with and hit the text boxes.
It can auto-detect and translate 109 languages. It even includes regional languages like Zulu from South Africa, Igbo from Nigeria, and the world’s most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language of Esperanto.
How to protect yourself online
StartPage explains that your IP address and personal data are removed per search when using the search engine. This includes the online translator, which makes your experience a lot safer.
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But StartPage doesn’t just do search engine privacy and anonymous browsing. The company offers encrypted email services through sponsor StartMail and recently launched a slew of privacy-focused functions like Private Shopping, Private Currency Converter and Private Stocks.
StartMail was built to safeguard your data, activity and privacy. That means every email stays private between you and your recipient — there’s no middleman sneaking around the scene, writing down all of your secrets to sell to advertisers.
Protect your freedom. Take back control. Sign up now at startmail.com/kim and get 50% off your first year.
Tags: addresses, browsers, Google Translate, privacy, search engine, StartMail, StartPage, technology, translation