Pictures and camera

Two tools read text from the world instead of from a file: Pictures for a photo or screenshot you already have, and Camera for taking a new picture of a sign or a menu in front of you. Both work the same way — take or choose a picture, the text is recognised on your device, and the translation comes back from the same engine as everything else.

Pictures

Drop or choose an image (or share one to Traxlate from your phone's share sheet). Pick the language the picture is in — the recognizer works best when told — and press Read and translate. The recognised text appears line by line, then the translation. With the original shows the two together; Text only gives you something to copy.

The first time, the page asks to download the recognizer's language data (under 3 MB per language). It comes through traxlate.com and stays on your device; the run itself contacts no other host. Pressing Not now leaves the picture unread and says so.

Camera

Take a photo opens your camera, you take the picture, and it is read and translated like any other — the same recognizer, the same engine, nothing uploaded. This is the path the phone app uses too, so both behave the same way.

Use the live camera is also there, below it: point the phone and the lines are translated over the video as they settle, with Pause to freeze the frame and Snap to read the held frame properly. It is the harder half and we are still working on it, so a photo is the reliable route. If the camera is denied or missing, the page says so and offers the file picker instead.

Getting a better read

• Fill the frame with the text and keep it level. A tilted photo reads worse than a small one.
• Choose the picture's language. Naming it helps with accents and word breaks; the page tells you when it is reading with a different language's letter shapes.
• Good light matters more than resolution.

Limits, honestly

Handwriting is not supported — the recognizers here read printed text. A photo of handwriting usually comes back either empty or as confident nonsense, so the page now says so when most of a reading is uncertain, and points you at the two things that do work: Write by hand on the Translate page, where you draw the words and your browser reads your strokes on the device, or simply typing the text.

Decorative or very small type may read wrong, and a wrong read translates confidently; compare with the original view before trusting a sign that matters. An unusual layout can change the reading order.

Are my photos uploaded?

No. The picture is read and translated in your browser or app, and the only download is the recognizer's language data, once.

Which languages can it read?

The recognizer covers the languages offered in the picture-language picker. Translation then covers the full list.