FAQ - ViewLingo

🚀 Getting Started

Which languages are supported?

ViewLingo uses the translation engine built into macOS, so it supports every language your Mac can translate — Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Ukrainian, Polish, Dutch, Indonesian, Italian and Portuguese among them. There is no separate list maintained by us: when Apple adds a language, ViewLingo picks it up without an app update.

To see the exact list available on your Mac, open ViewLingo's settings; it reads the languages from macOS directly. Language packs download once from System Settings › General › Language & Region › Translation Languages, after which translation runs offline.

How do I create a viewfinder? ▼

The quickest way to create a viewfinder:

Instant Creation: Double-tap fn + Control to create a viewfinder at your mouse position instantly
Alternative: You can also use the menu bar icon or app menu to create a viewfinder

The viewfinder will appear as a translucent window that you can move and resize as needed.

How do I close a viewfinder? ▼

You can close a viewfinder in several ways:

Press ESC key
Triple-click anywhere on the viewfinder
Click the close button (×) in the corner

What permissions does ViewLingo need? ▼

ViewLingo requires Screen Recording permission to capture the content within your viewfinder. This is a macOS requirement for any app that captures screen content.

                        Privacy Note: ViewLingo only captures the specific area within your viewfinder and processes it entirely on your device. Your content never leaves your Mac.
                    

🌍 Languages & Translation

Which languages are supported? ▼

ViewLingo supports translation between these languages:

English (US)
Korean (한국어)
Japanese (日本語)
Chinese Simplified (简体中文)
Chinese Traditional (繁體中文)
Spanish (Español)
French (Français)
German (Deutsch)
Thai (ไทย)
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)

How accurate are the translations? ▼

ViewLingo uses Apple's built-in neural translation engine, which provides high-quality translations comparable to other major translation services. Accuracy depends on:

Text clarity and font quality
Language pair (some combinations work better than others)
Context and text type (simple sentences vs. technical content)

For best results, ensure the text is clearly visible and well-lit on screen.

Can I translate offline? ▼

Yes! ViewLingo works completely offline. All translations happen on your device using Apple's built-in translation engine. No internet connection is required once the app is installed.

⚡ Features & Performance

What is Live Translation Mode? ▼

Live Mode automatically retranslates content as it changes on screen, perfect for:

Video subtitles
Live streams
Dynamic web content
Scrolling documents

                        💡 Tip: Live Mode works best with focused, smaller viewfinder areas. Using a very large area may reduce translation speed and accuracy.
                    

Does ViewLingo support vertical text (Japanese, Chinese)? ▼

Yes! ViewLingo natively handles vertical text commonly found in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean content. Vertical text is automatically detected and translations render in the correct writing direction.

What happens when the translation is longer than the original text? ▼

ViewLingo uses adaptive font sizing to ensure translated text fits naturally within the original text area. It automatically adjusts font size, tries condensed fonts, and uses multi-line wrapping when needed to maintain readability.

Does ViewLingo slow down my Mac? ▼

Under normal usage, ViewLingo has minimal impact on system performance:

Regular Mode: Very low resource usage, processes only when you request translation
Live Mode: Higher resource usage due to continuous processing

The app runs on macOS 15.0 or later and is optimized for Apple Silicon. It will launch on Intel Macs, but translation and text recognition are noticeably slower there, and Apple Silicon is what we test and tune against.

Can I translate text in any app? ▼

Yes! ViewLingo can translate text from any application or website, including:

Web browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox)
PDF readers
Video players
Games
Documents and presentations
Social media apps

The viewfinder captures whatever is visible on your screen, regardless of the source application.

💰 Pricing & Purchase

Why does ViewLingo cost $4.99? ▼

ViewLingo is a one-time purchase that includes:

All features with no restrictions
All language packs included
Lifetime updates
No subscriptions or recurring fees
Premium privacy with on-device processing

This is less than one month of most translation subscription services, but you own it forever.

Can I share ViewLingo with family members? ▼

Yes! ViewLingo supports Apple's Family Sharing, so you can share your purchase with up to 6 family members at no additional cost. You can also install it on all your personal Macs.

What if I'm not satisfied with ViewLingo? ▼

ViewLingo follows Apple's standard refund policy. You can request a refund within 14 days of purchase through Apple if the app doesn't meet your needs. Contact Apple Support to process refunds.

🔒 Privacy & Security

Is my data safe with ViewLingo? ▼

Absolutely! ViewLingo is designed with privacy as a core principle:

All translations happen on your device
No data is sent to external servers
We don't collect, store, or transmit your content
No analytics or tracking
Works completely offline

Your translations are as private as your thoughts - they never leave your Mac.

What about screen recording permission? ▼

The screen recording permission allows ViewLingo to capture content within your viewfinder. This is:

Required by macOS for any screen capture functionality
Limited to the specific area you select
Processed immediately and never stored
Cannot be accessed remotely or transmitted

ViewLingo uses this permission responsibly and only for translation purposes.

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Nothing appears when I capture. Is the app broken? ▼

Almost always this means the language pack for that language pair isn't installed yet. macOS does the translating, and it needs the pack downloaded once before it can work offline.

ViewLingo 2.3.0 and later detects this and offers to open the right settings page for you.
To install manually: System Settings › General › Language & Region › Translation Languages, then download the languages you need.
You only need the languages you actually read plus your own — not all of them.
After downloading, return to ViewLingo and capture again. Translation then runs fully offline.

ViewLingo isn't recognizing text properly. What can I do? ▼

Try these solutions:

Check text clarity: Ensure the text is clearly visible and not blurry
Adjust viewfinder size: Make sure the entire text is within the viewfinder
Improve lighting: OCR works better with good contrast
Check language settings: Ensure the source language is supported
Try different fonts: Some decorative fonts may be harder to recognize

I updated ViewLingo but it's not capturing anymore, even though permission is enabled. ▼

This is a known macOS behavior. When an app is updated, macOS may invalidate its screen recording permission internally, even though System Settings still shows it as "enabled." To fix this:

Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording
Find ViewLingo in the list
Remove it using the − (minus) button
Add it back using the + (plus) button
Restart ViewLingo

                        Why does this happen? macOS tracks each app version with a unique cryptographic hash (CDHash). After an update, the hash changes but the permission entry may still reference the old version. Removing and re-adding the permission refreshes this association.
                    

The app crashes or freezes. How do I fix this? ▼

Restart ViewLingo: Quit and relaunch the app
Check macOS version: Ensure you're running macOS 15.0 or later
Disable Live Mode: If enabled, turn off Live Mode in settings
Restart your Mac: Sometimes a system restart helps
Reinstall: Delete and reinstall from the App Store