The short answer: WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Messenger can now translate the messages you receive on their own. If you only need to read a message now and then, try that first. On a recent Galaxy phone, Galaxy AI Chat translation is the best built-in way to follow a whole conversation in both directions, in the apps Samsung supports. To read and reply in any chat app, on Android phones of any brand, Swift Translate does both with one floating bubble. Its Chat mode also translates WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business and Instagram conversations in a panel as new messages arrive.
Yes, we make one of the apps on this list. So we’ll tell you what each one is best at, including when it isn’t ours. The features below come from each app’s own Google Play listing, help pages and announcements, checked in October 2026. We didn’t test translation quality, so nothing here judges it.
What to look for in a chat translator
Five questions decide which app fits you:
- Can it read the messages you receive without copying them? Copying a message, switching apps and coming back takes time, and you do it for every message.
- Can it translate your reply before you send it? Reading is half a conversation. Many tools stop there.
- Does it follow the conversation as new messages arrive? Or do you translate one message at a time?
- Does it work in your chat apps? Some tools work in any app. Others only in WhatsApp, or in a fixed list of apps, or only on certain phones.
- Does it have your languages? Built-in translators often have shorter language lists than full translator apps.
One more thing to know: apps that read a message on your screen without copying it usually do it with Android’s accessibility permission. Hi Translate, Instant Translate On Screen, LangLang and Swift Translate all say so. Choose a developer you trust, and read the app’s Data safety section on Google Play.
1. Swift Translate: best for reading and replying in any app
Best at: reading messages in your language and replying in theirs, in WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and any other app, with nothing to copy. Weak spots: Android phones only (on iPhone, Swift Translate Keyboard translates what you write and the messages you copy). Chat mode covers WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business and Instagram; in other apps you drag the bubble onto each message. Translating needs a connection, and the bubble translates text, not voice messages.
A floating bubble stays on your screen. Drag it onto a message in any app, and a translation card appears next to the text, in your language. You don’t need to know what language the message is in, because it’s detected for you. Swift Translate covers more than 100 languages.
Replying works the same way in reverse. Type your answer in your own language first, then drag the bubble onto what you wrote, check the translation, and send it. Your message goes out in the language you picked for that person.
For WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business and Instagram direct messages, switch on Chat mode in the app’s settings. A chat icon then opens the conversation translated in a panel, and new messages are translated as they arrive while the panel is open. Swift Translate remembers the language for each contact and can open the panel by itself for the chats you choose. You can also reply from the panel’s own reply bar. Chat mode works in WhatsApp Business too, where WhatsApp’s own Translate isn’t available.
There’s no account to make. More on how it works: chat translator and WhatsApp translator.
2. Galaxy AI Chat translation: best built-in option on a Galaxy
Best at: following a whole conversation on a recent Galaxy, in both directions, with nothing to install. Weak spots: only on Galaxy phones with Galaxy AI (Samsung lists select models with One UI 6.1 or later). A fixed list of apps: Samsung Messages, Google Messages, WhatsApp, Instagram (direct messages only), KakaoTalk, Google Chat, Signal, LINE and Tango. Telegram and Messenger aren’t on it. Its language list is shorter than a full translator’s and depends on your phone and region. Samsung says it needs a Samsung account and a connection.
In a conversation, tap the three-stars icon on the keyboard’s toolbar, tap Chat translation, and choose a language at the top. The translation appears below the original text, for their messages and for yours. In its settings, you can show the original and the translation together or the translation only, and choose the apps it works in.
To turn it on, go to Settings > Galaxy AI > Chat assist (on newer phones, Writing assist) > Chat translation. If it doesn’t appear, Samsung’s fix is Settings > Security and privacy > More privacy settings > turn on Android personalization service, then restart the phone.
If you have a supported Galaxy and chat in the apps on Samsung’s list, this may be all you need. On other phones, or in Telegram and Messenger, look at the other options here.
3. Hi Translate: a bubble translator in an all-in-one app
Best at: a floating bubble you drag onto a message, or onto your typed reply, without copying. Its listing and its own guide name WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram, and the listing says 137+ languages. The same app also translates calls, meetings, voice, documents and photos. Weak spots: its own guide describes one drag per message. It doesn’t describe a mode that follows a whole conversation as it arrives. In such a large app, the chat translator is one feature among many.
Hi Translate works much like Swift Translate’s bubble. Press and hold the floating bubble, drag it onto a message and lift your finger, and the translation shows over the original. To reply, type in your language and drag the bubble onto your text in the input box, then review and send.
If you want one app for calls, documents and chats, Hi Translate is a fair choice. If you mostly chat in WhatsApp or Instagram and want the whole conversation translated as it arrives, a Chat mode like Swift Translate’s saves you a drag for every message.
4. Instant Translate On Screen: a screen translator that also does chats
Best at: translating any text on screen. Drag the bubble onto text with no copy-paste, translate the whole screen at once, or translate a region you select. For replies, its Play listing describes a Magic Dot in the input box that translates your text before you send it. It lists 200+ languages and says it can translate offline. Weak spots: it’s built as much around games, comics and video as around chats. It asks for screen capture and accessibility permissions.
A good pick if you translate games and chats with the same app. For chat-only use, check that the reply feature works in your chat app before you rely on it.
5. LangLang: automatic WhatsApp translation, on a subscription
Best at: once it’s on, every message you send and receive in a WhatsApp chat is translated automatically, both ways. That includes groups and WhatsApp Business. Weak spots: WhatsApp only. Its help pages say you get 5 free credits, that “1 credit = 1 translated message”, and that you then need a subscription. It needs both the accessibility and “Appear on Top” permissions.
Tap its floating Translate button in a conversation and choose the language your friend speaks. If you chat mostly in WhatsApp and want hands-free translation in both directions, this is what LangLang is built for. Keep in mind that only the first five messages are free.
6. Microsoft SwiftKey: a keyboard that reads and writes
Best at: translating your reply as you type, from a keyboard many people already use. Copy a message, and SwiftKey detects its language and shows the translation above the keyboard. Weak spots: to read a message, you copy it first. Translation covers 60+ languages. It works only while SwiftKey is your keyboard, and its Google Play listing doesn’t mention the Translator.
Microsoft’s help says to open it from the Toolbar: tap the icon to the left of the prediction bar, then tap Translator. If you already type on SwiftKey and your languages are on its list, it’s a sensible choice. For the full picture of translator keyboards, including Gboard and ours, see the best translator keyboards for Android.
7. Google’s own tools: Tap to Translate, Circle to Search and Live Translate
Google has three separate tools, and each does part of the job:
- Tap to Translate (in the Google Translate app): copy text in any app, then tap the Google Translate icon. Turn it on in the Translate app: Menu > Settings > Tap to Translate > Enable. Google notes that it “works with text, not with images”, and it starts with copying, which slows down a real conversation.
- Circle to Search: on phones that have it, touch and hold the Home button or the navigation bar, then tap Translate. Scroll and translate keeps translating as you scroll through a chat. It helps you read, not write.
- Pixel Live Translate: on Pixel 6 and later, it can translate messages in some chat apps, on the phone, in about two dozen languages. Turn it on in Settings > System > Live Translate > Use Live Translate. Google’s help page describes reading messages, and Google doesn’t publish a list of the apps. A Google blog post says you can also type replies in the other language, but no Google page explains how.
8. Translator keyboards and translating messengers
Two other kinds of app show up when you search Google Play for a chat translator.
Translator keyboards replace your keyboard and translate what you type. To read a message you receive, you usually copy it first. Some bundle extras such as games or sounds. Our keyboard roundup compares the main ones.
Translating messengers such as Intent and FlaiChat translate chats inside their own app. They work when both people install the same app. They describe chats inside their own app, not in WhatsApp, Telegram or Instagram.
Your chat app may already translate
Before you install anything, here’s what the main chat apps do on their own on Android:
| Chat app | Translates messages you receive | Whole chat automatically | Translates your reply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes: hold the message > ⋮ > Translate | Yes, on Android | No | |
| WhatsApp Business | No | No | No |
| Telegram | Yes, after turning on Show Translate Button | With Telegram Premium | Yes, on longer messages |
| Instagram (direct messages) | Yes: hold the message > Translate | — | No |
| Messenger | Yes: hold the message > More > Translate | Only in some business chats | No |
| Yes: hold the message > Translate | Yes, a setting | — | |
| Viber | Yes: hold the message > Translate | In the desktop app only | Yes: Polish message > Translate |
| KakaoTalk | — | No | Yes: 번역 on the keyboard toolbar |
| LINE | Only in LINE’s computer apps | No | No |
| Google Messages, Snapchat, Discord, Signal | No | No | No |
— means the app doesn’t document it.
A few details matter:
- WhatsApp can’t translate your reply, isn’t available in WhatsApp Business, and is “only available on certain devices” so far. Its Android language list started with six languages, shorter than the iPhone’s. Full steps: how to translate WhatsApp messages.
- Telegram hides its Translate button until you turn it on: Settings > Language > Show Translate Button. Translating whole chats needs Telegram Premium. Its AI Editor translates what you write once your message is three or four lines long, with a daily limit on free accounts, and none of it works in secret chats. See how to translate Telegram messages.
- Instagram’s help pages describe translating direct messages one at a time, and no way to translate your reply. See how to translate Instagram DMs.
- Messenger says its Translate is “not available for everyone at this time”, and it translates into your phone’s language only.
- Viber’s translation has daily limits and may not be available in every region.
So the built-ins are enough for reading a message now and then in a big chat app. People install a chat translator for the rest: replying in the other language, WhatsApp Business, chat apps without translation, and languages the built-in list doesn’t cover.
The quick comparison
| Reads messages without copying | Translates your reply | Follows the chat as messages arrive | Works in | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swift Translate | Yes: drag the bubble | Yes: type, drag, send | In Chat mode: WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, Instagram | Any app, on Android |
| Galaxy AI Chat translation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Listed apps, on Galaxy phones with Galaxy AI |
| Hi Translate | Yes: drag the bubble | Yes: drag onto your text | Not described | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram and other apps |
| Instant Translate On Screen | Yes: drag the bubble or the whole screen | Yes: Magic Dot | Not described | Any app |
| LangLang | Yes, automatically | Yes, automatically | Yes | WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business |
| Microsoft SwiftKey | After you copy | Yes: as you type | No | Any app with a text box |
| Google Tap to Translate | After you copy | Not described | No | Any app |
| Pixel Live Translate | Yes | Not explained | Yes | Some chat apps, on Pixel 6 and later |
| WhatsApp Translate | Yes | No | Yes, on Android | WhatsApp only (not Business) |
Which one should you use?
| You mostly… | Use |
|---|---|
| Read a message now and then in WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram or Messenger | The app’s own Translate |
| Chat on a recent Galaxy, in the apps Samsung lists | Galaxy AI Chat translation |
| Read and reply in any chat app, on Android | Swift Translate |
| Follow whole WhatsApp or Instagram conversations as they arrive | Swift Translate (Chat mode) |
| Answer customers in WhatsApp Business | Swift Translate (Chat mode) or LangLang |
| Want one app for chats, calls and documents | Hi Translate |
| Translate games and chats with one app | Instant Translate On Screen |
| Write in another language from your keyboard | SwiftKey, Gboard or Swift Translate Keyboard |
| Chat on iPhone | Swift Translate Keyboard for iPhone |
FAQ
Is there an app that translates chats in real time?
Yes, a few. Galaxy AI Chat translation and Pixel Live Translate translate conversations on the phones that have them. On Android, WhatsApp itself can translate all new messages in a chat. LangLang translates WhatsApp chats automatically. Swift Translate’s Chat mode translates new WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business and Instagram messages as they arrive while its panel is open, and its bubble translates any message in any other app with one drag.
Can WhatsApp translate messages by itself?
Yes. Tap and hold a message, tap ⋮ (on iPhone, More…), then Translate. On Android you can also translate all new messages in a chat. On Android it started with six languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic. The iPhone list is longer. WhatsApp can’t translate your reply before you send it, the feature isn’t in WhatsApp Business, and it isn’t on WhatsApp Web or the computer apps so far. Here’s how to translate WhatsApp messages, and how to read and reply automatically.
How can I reply in another language in WhatsApp?
WhatsApp doesn’t do this itself. With Swift Translate, type your reply in your language first, then drag the bubble onto it, check the translation and send. Galaxy AI Chat translation does it on supported Galaxy phones, and translator keyboards such as SwiftKey, Gboard and Swift Translate Keyboard translate what you type in the message box.
Which chat translator works with WhatsApp Business?
WhatsApp’s own Translate isn’t available in WhatsApp Business. Swift Translate’s Chat mode and LangLang both work there. Swift Translate’s bubble works there too, as it does in any other app.
Can these apps translate voice messages?
Swift Translate’s bubble and Chat mode translate text, not voice messages. None of the other apps here describes translating voice messages in a chat either. WhatsApp can turn some voice messages into text in a few languages, and Telegram turns voice into text with Telegram Premium (free accounts get a few a week). In Telegram, you can then translate that text.
Is it safe to give a chat translator the accessibility permission?
Apps that read the text on your screen without copying usually need it, so the question is who you trust with it. Check the developer and the Data safety section on Google Play. Swift Translate needs no account, sends text for translation over an encrypted connection, and doesn’t keep it on a server of its own.
If you only read a message now and then, your chat app’s own Translate may be enough. If you chat across apps and languages, and want to answer in theirs, Swift Translate reads and replies with one bubble.
Related: Chat translator · WhatsApp translator · How to chat with someone who speaks another language · Best screen translator apps for Android
