Frequently asked questions
Everything you might want to know before installing.
Does FluentMe send my screens to the cloud?
No — your screen captures stay on your machine. On macOS, capture, OCR, and translation all run on-device. On Windows, capture and OCR are local; only the recognised text is sent to our translation service, which never stores it.
What macOS versions are supported?
Plain screenshot capture works on macOS 14 Sonoma and later. Translation features require macOS 15+ because they rely on the system Translation framework.
Which languages can it translate?
Any pair supported by Apple's Translate app on your Mac. That currently includes English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, Korean, Arabic and several more. You install the packs once, FluentMe uses them.
Can I change the shortcuts?
Yes. Open Settings from the menu bar icon and pick any combination of ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ ⇧ plus a key for both 'Capture' and 'Capture + Translate'. Defaults are ⌘ ⌥ A and ⌘ ⌥ R.
Does it work on top of any app?
Yes. FluentMe captures whatever window has focus — browsers, PDF readers, games, terminals, IDEs, video players. If it's on your screen, it can be captured and translated.
Do I need to sign up for anything?
No. There are no accounts, no API keys, no logins. Download, grant Screen Recording permission, set your language — that's it.
Is there a cost?
FluentMe is free while it's in beta. A paid tier with more advanced features may arrive later, but the core capture-and-translate flow will stay free.
What about Windows and Linux?
Windows is now available in beta — download the installer from the Download page. Linux is still on the roadmap; it will likely use Tesseract OCR and a bundled translation model.
Why can't I see translations appear?
On macOS: (1) Screen Recording permission isn't granted — enable it in System Settings → Privacy & Security. (2) You're on macOS 14 — translation needs macOS 15+. (3) The language pack isn't installed in the Translate app. On Windows: (1) No internet connection — translation requires our service. (2) The Windows OCR language pack for the source language isn't installed (Settings → Time & language → Language).
Where are saved screenshots stored?
By default, FluentMe writes captured and translated PNGs to your Desktop. You can disable saving entirely or switch to clipboard-only in Settings.