YouTube No Translation

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Scope of the Add-on / Problem It Solves

  • Add-on disables YouTube’s automatic translation of titles, descriptions, subtitles and especially AI audio dubbing.
  • Many report YouTube now defaults to translated audio or titles with no persistent way to turn it off, particularly on mobile, TV apps, and some browsers.
  • Creators often don’t realize their videos are being auto-dubbed; it’s a backend toggle that was reportedly auto‑enabled for many channels.

User Frustrations with Forced Translation

  • Multilingual users are the core complainants: they regularly consume content in 2–4+ languages and want originals, not forced translations.
  • Auto-translated titles are frequently wrong, misleading, or culturally off; users describe them as “word salad” that obscures the actual content.
  • Automatic dubbing is widely described as uncanny, low-quality, and sometimes starts mid‑video after a delay, breaking immersion and humor.
  • Language-learning use cases are badly hit: language‑teaching videos or foreign‑language practice get dubbed back into the learner’s native language, often without an obvious way to revert.
  • On some clients (Brave, mobile apps, TV, AirPlay), controls for choosing the original track are missing or inconsistent.

Critiques of Google/YouTube’s i18n Design

  • Many see a pattern: YouTube ignores browser Accept‑Language, Google account language lists, and explicit UI settings, instead relying heavily on IP geolocation.
  • Users complain of half‑translated UIs, mismatched currencies, and search results warped by localization assumptions across Google products.
  • Several call this hostile to multilinguals and expats, likening it to broader “enshittification” and AI being shoehorned in to hit engagement/AI‑usage KPIs.
  • Some argue the design reflects a monolingual, often US‑centric mindset; others counter that Google is highly international, so this seems more like business optimization than ignorance.

Proposed Better Approaches

  • Let users:
    • Declare multiple languages they understand and never auto‑translate those.
    • Choose a default target language only for unfamiliar languages.
    • Persistently disable auto‑dubbing and auto‑title translation.
  • Several note HTTP Accept‑Language and per‑app OS language settings already exist and should be honored.

Positive Views / Use Cases

  • A minority likes automatic title translation for discovery (e.g., Japanese music, non‑English content) and sees the feature as “Babel Fish‑like” science fiction made real.
  • Even supporters, however, generally want it to be opt‑in and clearly indicated, not silently forced.

Workarounds and Ecosystem

  • Users rely on a stack of extensions (uBlock, SponsorBlock, DeArrow, anti‑translate add‑ons, etc.) or alternative clients (Invidious, GrayJay, ReVanced) to regain control.
  • Multiple people confirm this specific add‑on currently works by briefly showing the translated title then swapping it back to the original.