DEV Community: hello liao

LINE Has No Web Version: How to Translate LINE Chats on a Desktop

hello liao — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:30:56 +0000

Disclosure: I work on Liao, which is one of the options below.

Many people who work with customers in Japan, Thailand and Taiwan end up chatting on LINE. There is one problem: unlike WhatsApp or Telegram, LINE has no web version. It offers a phone app, a desktop client and a browser extension. That is why the "translate in the browser" tricks that work on other chat apps do not work here.

What people usually do

Copy and paste into a translation app. It needs no setup, but every message means switching windows, and replying takes a second round trip.

A translation bot in the chat. You add a bot as a friend or invite it into a group, and it posts translations. It works well in group chats. The catch: everyone in the group can see what the bot posts, and it is awkward for one-to-one conversations.

A desktop app that handles LINE for you. Liao bundles LINE's official desktop extension, so you do not need to install LINE or the extension yourself:

Install Liao on Windows 10/11 and log in with a Liao account.
Click "Add account" and choose LINE.
Scan the QR code with LINE on your phone, or log in with the email and password linked to your LINE account. The first time you log in on a computer, confirm once on your phone.
Open a chat: incoming Japanese or Thai messages get a Chinese translation underneath. Type in Chinese, press Enter to turn it into Japanese or Thai, press Enter again to send.

Each LINE account can have its own target language, so one account can send Japanese and another Thai.

Two things worth knowing

LINE limits how many computers can be logged in to the same account at once. Logging in through Liao may sign you out of LINE on another computer. Your phone is not affected.
Liao translates personal LINE chats. LINE Official Account back-ends can be opened inside Liao, but they are not translated yet.

Limits

Windows only, and the interface is in Simplified Chinese. Pricing is per translated character, with no monthly fee and a free allowance for new accounts. Liao does not auto-reply: you check and send every message.

More: https://helloliao.com/translate/line

Running Several WhatsApp, LINE and Telegram Accounts on One PC Without Mixing Them Up

hello liao — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:25:57 +0000

Disclosure: I work on Liao, the tool used as the example in the last section.

If you sell across markets, you probably have more than one chat account: one per country, one for pre-sales and one for after-sales. Keeping them straight on a single computer is its own small problem.

Why people split accounts

Customers from different countries are handled by different accounts, so conversations do not get mixed up.
Pre-sales, after-sales and repeat customers are easier to hand over when they live in separate accounts.
Switching accounts on a phone all day is slow. On a computer, one window can show everything.

The usual headaches

Logging out and in again. Web versions let you stay logged in to one account per browser profile, so people juggle profiles or log out repeatedly.
Mixed-up replies. Answering from the wrong account is easy when every tab looks the same.
Different network addresses. Many people give each account its own fixed proxy so the login location stays consistent.

How a desktop app helps

An app like Liao keeps each account in its own isolated login environment inside one window. For each account you can set a separate proxy, or leave it on your computer's own connection. Login state is saved on your computer, so you do not have to scan the QR code every time. WhatsApp, LINE, Telegram, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and Zalo can all be logged in at the same time, and each chat gets translated automatically.

Steps in Liao: click "Add account", pick the chat app, scan the QR code on your phone, optionally set a proxy for that account, then click an account to switch to it.

What it does not do

It does not send bulk messages or auto-reply, and each message is sent by you. Bans mostly come from bulk sending, adding people too fast and a login location that keeps changing, so a fixed proxy per account helps keep things stable. Liao is Windows only and the interface is in Simplified Chinese.

Try it: https://helloliao.com/guide/multi-account

How to Auto-Translate WhatsApp Messages on a Windows PC (3 Ways Compared)

hello liao — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:24:35 +0000

Disclosure: I work on Liao, one of the tools mentioned below. I describe how it works and what it cannot do, so you can compare it with the other options.

If you chat with customers or suppliers in several languages, copying every message into a translation site gets old fast. Here are three ways people handle it on a Windows PC, and what each one is good for.

1. WhatsApp's built-in translation (on your phone)

WhatsApp announced message translation on September 23, 2025, rolling out gradually:

On Android and iPhone you long-press a message and tap Translate.
On Android you can turn on automatic translation for a whole chat.
Translation runs on your device, and WhatsApp says it cannot see the translated content.
Android launched with six languages (English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic); iPhone supports more.

Good for: occasionally understanding a message on your phone.

Not enough if: you work on a computer all day. The announcement covers phones, and it is about reading messages you receive. When you reply, you still need another tool to write in the other person's language.

2. A browser extension on WhatsApp Web

Search the Chrome Web Store for "WhatsApp translator" and you will find several extensions that add a translation next to each message on WhatsApp Web.

Good for: one account, used in the browser.

Keep in mind: an extension can read the page, so check the permissions it asks for, its reviews and when it was last updated. Switching between several WhatsApp accounts in one browser profile is also awkward.

3. A desktop app built for chat translation

This is what Liao does. It is a Windows app that opens WhatsApp Web inside its own window and adds translation around it:

Install Liao and log in with a Liao account.
Click "Add account", choose WhatsApp, and scan the QR code from WhatsApp on your phone (Linked devices).
Open a chat: each incoming message gets a translation underneath.
Type your reply in Chinese and press Enter. It is replaced by the translation in the other person's language, and you see a back-translation to check the meaning. Press Enter again to send.

Other details: you can run several WhatsApp accounts side by side, each with its own login environment and optional proxy. Liao never sends anything for you, and it does not auto-reply or send bulk messages.

Limits: Windows 10/11 only, and the interface is in Simplified Chinese, so it fits people who read Chinese and chat in other languages. Pricing is per translated character (prepaid, no monthly fee), with a free allowance for new accounts.

Which one should you pick?

Your situation	Try
You only need to understand a message now and then	WhatsApp's built-in translation
One account, always in the browser	A browser extension
Many chats, several accounts, you also need to reply	A desktop chat translator

Will translation get my account banned?

Bans usually come from bulk messaging, adding many strangers quickly, or being reported. Translating your own one-to-one conversations and sending each message yourself is not what those rules target. Whatever tool you use, follow WhatsApp's terms.

Liao is at https://helloliao.com.