Retrieves translations without using any Google-related service, preventing them from tracking.
Reviewed by Gabriel Bachmann
Lingva Translate
github.com/thedaviddelta/lingva-translate#lingva-translate 2 ratings so far*
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Threat level
Covered
A covered pick. Anyone can use it as a private drop-in, with no setup or know-how. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
A clever front-end that pulls Google Translate’s quality while stripping Google’s tracking, so you get the good results without being profiled. The honest flag is that development has gone quiet and it depends on a public service it doesn’t control, which makes public instances fragile. Best used self-hosted, where you own the proxy and aren’t relying on someone else’s instance staying up. Pick it when you want Google-grade translations privately and can host it yourself; treat shared instances as best-effort.
GitHub at a glance
thedaviddelta/lingva-translate
Stars
1,818
+ 9 this week
Last commit
3.0y ago
slowing
License
AGPL-3.0
Stars, last 34d
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Lingva Translate license, in plain English
AGPL-3.0 Strong copyleft · network
Free to use, even commercially. Changes must be published under the same license, and running a modified version as a network service counts as distributing it.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Patent use
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Network use is distribution
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: The network clause is the point. Anyone who runs a modified version as a hosted service has to publish those changes, so the code handling your data stays inspectable. This is why privacy-first projects reach for AGPL.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.
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