Mozilla introduced web page translation functionality to its Firefox web browser, starting with version 118. This feature, designed to enhance user privacy, operates locally, meaning no translations are performed via external servers. However, for this feature to function correctly, users must download a file for each language to be translated. Recently, Mozilla has been testing an extension for this functionality, which is now available for testing in Firefox 126 , currently in the Nightly channel.
Other browsers, such as Chrome and Vivaldi, also offer selectable translation features , albeit with different approaches and considerations. Chrome uses Google Translate, which may raise user privacy concerns, while Vivaldi uses Lingvanex , a more private option but not as accurate as DeepL.
Activate Firefox 126 selection translation
Mozilla plans to implement its own selected text translation tool, keeping the focus on user privacy and performing translations locally.
To activate the selected text translation function in Firefox 126, just follow these steps:
- We access the browser's advanced configuration by typing "about:config" in the address bar.
- If the notice appears, we accept to access the options.
- We look for the “browser.translations.select.enable” option and change its value from “false” to “true” by clicking on the switch.
- Once the function is activated, it can be used by right-clicking on a selected text and choosing the “Translate selection to translation-language” option. The last language mentioned will be the language into which the selected text will be translated. It is important to know that it will not work if we do not have the language file of the original text downloaded.
It's important to note that, as this feature is currently being tested in a preview version of the browser (Firefox 126), its inclusion in the stable version, or when it might be added, cannot be guaranteed. However, since it's a logical evolution of an existing feature, it's likely to be implemented in future versions of the browser.