Summary: This article is for anyone working in a multilingual Speakap network. It explains how the Automatic Translations feature, powered by Google Translate, shows posts in your preferred language, what content gets translated, and how to fix the most common translation issues.
How Automatic Translations works
Automatic Translations is a paid premium add-on. It is not on by default. To add it to your network, contact your Customer Success Manager at csm@speakap.com. Network administrators can find the activation steps in How to Enable Google Translate.
Once enabled, the feature instantly shows Feed posts and other content in your preferred reading language. Speakap detects that language as follows:
- Web browser: the language chosen in your Speakap Personal Settings.
- Mobile apps: the system language of your iOS or Android device.
Synced across devices: if a network administrator turns translations on or off on the web platform, your mobile app follows that change right away. A short introduction banner appears on both web and mobile to let you know, and disappears for good once you dismiss it.
What gets translated
Most content in Speakap supports automatic translation:
| Feature area | Translation behavior |
| Updates, comments, and replies | Translated instantly, right in the Feed. |
| Polls and tasks | Questions and instructions are translated automatically. |
| Events and Journeys | Event details, scheduling information, and onboarding steps adjust to the user's language. |
| News items and Knowledge Base | The body text translates once you open the specific article. Note: the left-hand navigation lists and Knowledge Base category names are not translated. |
A note on notifications: push notifications are not translated while they sit in your device's notification tray. The moment you tap the notification and open the post or message in Speakap, the translation applies.
See Original and See Translation
Whenever a post has been translated automatically, a small notice appears at the top of the post.
- See Original: tap it to read the message in the language the author wrote it in.
- See Translation: if a post does not translate automatically, for example because your language settings do not match, click See Translation to translate it yourself. That post then stays in your translated language.
Edits and older posts
- Post edits: if an author edits a published post, for example to fix a typo, the translation updates immediately.
- Older content: automatic translation mainly targets newly published posts. To translate older posts, use the manual See Translation button.
Language variants
Speakap uses one language code per language. Regional variants and dialects within the same language, such as Brazilian versus European Portuguese, or Flemish versus Dutch, are treated as one language (for example pt or nl).
Frequently asked questions
Why isn't my Feed content translating automatically?
This is usually a language settings mismatch. For example, if your Speakap profile language is set to Dutch but your phone's system language is Italian, the system looks for Italian content settings and may not translate automatically. Click See Translation to translate the post yourself.
The translation quality seems awkward or grammatically imperfect.
Translations come from an external translation engine, so quality depends on its models. For the best results, content creators should keep sentences short and direct, use clean punctuation, and avoid dense local slang and idioms.
Can we turn off Automatic Translations for our whole network?
Yes. If you are a network administrator and want the feature removed from your network, contact your Customer Success Manager at csm@speakap.com.
I do not see any translation tools or buttons on my network.
Automatic Translations is a paid premium add-on. If the translation options are missing from your network, the add-on is not part of your current subscription. Contact your Customer Success Manager at csm@speakap.com to discuss adding it.
Still stuck?
Email us at support@speakap.com with your network name, the post that won't translate, and your profile and device language settings, and we'll help you out. For questions about adding the translation add-on, contact your Customer Success Manager at csm@speakap.com.