A customer writes in Portuguese, a supplier answers in Spanish, and you're on https://web.whatsapp.com with a reply half typed in English. WhatsApp added message translation to its Android and iPhone apps in September 2025 (Meta's announcement). As of late September 2026, it wasn't available in WhatsApp Web or the desktop app. This post covers the phone route first, then a way to do it in Chrome on your computer.
Option 1: Translate on your phone
Meta's announcement describes it: long-press a message, tap Translate, choose the languages, and download the language so it's saved for next time. Translation happens on the phone. Android started with six languages (English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic) and iPhone with 19 or more. That works when the phone is in your hand. It doesn't help with the chat open on your computer, and it doesn't touch the reply you're typing there.
Option 2: Translate in WhatsApp Web with WA Folders
I built WA Folders, a Chrome extension that runs only on https://web.whatsapp.com. Version 1.2.6 added translation between Portuguese, English and Spanish. Those are the only three languages it handles. It translates one message at a time when you click, never sends anything, and isn't affiliated with WhatsApp or Meta.
It uses Chrome's built-in translator, which runs on your computer. Nothing leaves your browser, and it can never send a message.
Translate a message
- Install WA Folders: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/hahfpdlfieloofgjhanljbbnakinfhil?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=howto6
- Open https://web.whatsapp.com and open a chat.
- Point at a message in Portuguese, English or Spanish. A Translate button appears next to it.
- Click it. The translation shows under the message with the language it came from, for example "From Portuguese · change · Translated on this computer".
If WA Folders guessed the source language wrong (short messages like "ok" or "kkkk vlw" are hard to guess), click change and pick the right one. If the message is in another language, it tells you it only translates Portuguese, English and Spanish.
For these screenshots I sent three test messages to my own "Message yourself" chat and translated each into another language:
You choose the language messages get translated into in WA Folders Settings → Translation. By default it's Chrome's language.
The first time
Chrome has to fetch its translator once. The panel says "Chrome is getting its translator ready on this computer (about 30 MB, plus about 80 MB per language). Click Translate again in a few seconds." After that, each language pair is on your computer. Chrome's translator needs a recent desktop Chrome. If it isn't available in your browser, WA Folders can use your own OpenAI or Google Gemini key instead, and it asks you once before any text goes to that provider. That fallback is off unless you've saved a key.
Translate your reply before you send it
- Type your reply in the message box as usual.
- Click Translate draft, which shows just above the right end of the message box.
- Pick the language you wrote in (From) and the language you want (Translate to).
The translation replaces your text in the box. WA Folders doesn't send it. You read it, fix it if you want, and press Enter yourself. A small "Translated to English · Undo" line stays above the box.
Click Undo and your original text comes back exactly as you typed it. Once the box is empty, the button goes away.
What it keeps and what it doesn't
- Translations show on screen only. They aren't saved, searched or exported.
- It only translates what you click. There's no setting that translates a whole chat or every new message.
- Chrome's translator sometimes leaves part of a sentence in the original language. WA Folders checks for that and tries again, up to three times, but it can still happen. Read a translation before you rely on it for anything important.
Free and Pro
The free plan includes 20 translations a day, counted on your computer and reset at local midnight. Only new translations count. Pro has no daily limit. Free plan included; Pro is a one-time unlock, see https://wafolders.com.
Which one to use
Use the phone when the chat is already open there. Use WA Folders when you're working in WhatsApp Web on a computer, and especially when you want to write your reply in your own language and send it in theirs.
FAQ
Does WhatsApp Web have a translate button?
Not as of late September 2026. WhatsApp's message translation is in the Android and iPhone apps.
Does the other person see that I translated their message?
No. The translation only appears in your browser. Nothing is sent.
Can it translate a whole chat automatically?
No. You click Translate on each message you want translated.
Which languages?
Portuguese, English and Spanish, in any direction.
Does my text go to a server?
With Chrome's translator, no. It runs on your computer. Only if Chrome's translator isn't available and you've saved your own OpenAI or Gemini key does the text you click go from your browser to that provider, and WA Folders asks first.
Voice notes in Portuguese, English or Spanish can be translated too, once they're transcribed. How to transcribe WhatsApp Web voice notes on your computer covers that. More WA Folders how-tos: How to make folders in WhatsApp Web, How to search WhatsApp Web messages, and why some don't show up and How to export a WhatsApp Web chat, and what ends up in the file.
If WA Folders saves you some copy-pasting into a translator, a rating on the Chrome Web Store helps other people find it.
Top comments (0)