Idea name: Translate a message to the user’s native language.
Description: By selecting a specific message through clicking / tapping / long-pressing / deep clicking, Status will attempt to display it in whatever language is set in the user’s localization preferences.
Use case: As a user, I want to be able to send messages in my native language even if all other users won’t be able to read it. I also want to read messages posted in languages other than the ones I speak, so that I can engage with a wider audience.
Target user: Anyone who doesn’t speak every language there is, and doesn’t want to translate their message to every language there is.
Why this is important: Status was made for a global community, not just an English-speaking one.
Any other comments: Google’s translate API could power this, but other translation APIs exist… and there may be privacy-focused translation options available which are ideally also free or very low cost. Using this feature on messages in obscurely named or private chat groups could raise privacy concerns, but only the contents of the message (as opposed to sender and recipient) needs to be sent to the API. Checking for high entropy could help avoid passwords and private keys being accidentally sent. I submitted this idea on the feature request form months ago, but I don’t see it on the Trello roadmap.
If you think this is a great idea and know how to implement it, consider posting a project proposal on Assemble. If you love this idea, hit the vote button.