About Immersive Translate
Immersive Translate is the most capable pick for reading a lot in another language. Its main mode shows the translation beneath each paragraph, so the original stays visible. You can hover over a paragraph to translate just that one, translate selected text, or type in an input box and have it translated.
It also translates PDFs, EPUB ebooks, subtitle files, images and video subtitles on sites such as YouTube and Netflix. It works with many engines, and the Chrome listing names DeepL, OpenAI, Gemini and Claude. Page text goes to whichever engine you pick. Some features need a paid plan, and it runs in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari.
The price is trust. The operator is Funstory.ai Limited in Hong Kong, and the extension is closed source. Its policy says it does not sell personal information, but it collects your email, usage statistics, error logs and device information, and stores submitted files, images and PDFs temporarily to improve translation quality. Subscriber PDFs go to a separate service, Mathpix. The Chrome privacy tab says no data is collected, which does not match the policy. Read the policy before using it on sensitive text.
Pros and cons
- Bilingual layout keeps the original and the translation together
- Covers PDFs, ebooks, video subtitles and images, not just pages
- Pick your engine, including DeepL and several AI models
- Available in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari
- Closed source, from a Hong Kong company
- Mixed ratings: 4.6 on Chrome, about 3.7 on Firefox and Edge
- Some features need a paid Pro plan
Permissions
The Chrome build asks for access to all sites, plus active tab, context menus, web requests, rule-based request changes, side panel and offscreen documents. It needs them to rewrite pages in place and translate content on any site.
