Translate a website in Safari on iPhone with Microsoft Translator

Translating a foreign language site in Safari on your iPhone is not a very straightforward exercise for users who are new to iOS. There are no built-in ‘Translate’ features in Safari unlike some other browsers out there. You can, however, take advantage of free Safari extensions and make translating any foreign language website into English a breeze.

One of the best Safari extensions for translation is the Microsoft Translator extension. It’s also free to use!

Related:

• Our top iPhone Safari tab tips & tricks
• How to remove a website from Safari’s ‘Never Save’ password setting
• Why is my Safari browser so slow or crashing on iPad or iPhone?
• Safari not working? How to troubleshoot your problems

Here is how to set up Safari with this extension and start translating any sites for easy reading.

Steps to translate a website in Safari on iPhone

For iOS 13+ and iPadOS

1. Open the App Store and search for the Microsoft Translator app on your iPhone
   Translate foreign websites in Safari using Microsoft Translator.
2. Press Get (or the cloud icon) to install the app on your iPhone or iPad
3. In Safari, open the foreign language website
4. Tap on the Share button and scroll down the list of actions
5. Choose Translator
6. This action immediately translates the website that’s open in Safari

For iOS 12 and below

• Follow steps 1-4 as listed above
• Choose the ‘More’ button

• Turn on the Translator option here

• This adds the Translator function into Safari and you are ready to translate now
• Open a foreign language site and tap on the ‘Share’ button again
• Tap on Translator from the options

This action immediately translates the website that you have opened in Safari to English. You also see the status of the translation at the top of the page.

Can you translate a website into another language besides English?

Yes. You can absolutely set up a preferred language for your Safari translations when using the Microsoft Translator on your iPhone or iPad.

Here’s how you can set up the default translation language.

• Tap on Microsoft Translator app on your device home screen
• Tap on the Settings icon (gear) at the bottom right of your screen
• Scroll down to Languages section
• Tap on Safari Translation Language and choose the default language

Other notable translation features of Microsoft Translate 

Microsoft Translator is a nifty app that comes packed with features that allow more functions than merely a Safari website translation.

You can use the app to translate text and images even when you don’t have an internet connection. You first need to set up the ‘Offline Languages’ in the Languages setting.

Microsoft Translator also provides you with features to translate voice from one language to another.

Stuck with a menu that you can’t understand when travelling internationally? No problem. You can use the app to translate images/photos into English.

Tap on the built-in translator camera feature in the app to get started. You can use this feature to easily translate a photo or image from a different language into English or any of the other languages provided in the app.

This free app from Microsoft does a lot when it comes to translating on your iPhone or iPad. Feel free to check it out and let us know if you have any questions using the comments below.

SK( Managing Editor )

Obsessed with tech since the early arrival of A/UX on Apple, Sudz (SK) is responsible for the editorial direction of AppleToolBox. He is based out of Los Angeles, CA.

Sudz specializes in covering all things macOS, having reviewed dozens of OS X and macOS developments over the years.

In a former life, Sudz worked helping Fortune 100 companies with their technology and business transformation aspirations.