Tarjimly Essentials is a mobile application available for asylum seekers, refugees, immigrants and the organizations that serve them, and costs nothing. Tarjimly functions by connecting a community of volunteer translators and interpreters to those who need language access.
After signing up on the Tarjimly mobile app, make a request for the language pair you need assistance with, for example English to Swahili.
When you make a request, we send out notifications to a group of translators. You'll be connected to the best available translator. Once connected, you can send written messages, voice notes, photos and get on an internet call with your translator.
Watch this short video to see what to expect when using Tarjimly. Have questions? Read our FAQs or contact us at team@tarjim.ly
Access to our volunteer community of translators and interpreters on the app.
Unlimited number of sessions.
Exchange messages, photos and voice notes.
Make internet phone calls via the app.
Download the Tarjimly app onto your phone via Google Playstore or the Appstore.
You'll need to complete these steps:
1. Create an account
2. Verify your email address
3. Agree to our code of conduct
Select the language pair you need from the homepage, and press request. Tarjimly will search and connect you with the best available translator. We recommend waiting at least 90 seconds to get connected.
Take a look at our Available Language page to see average connection times.
Tarjimly connects you and the translator in a live chat session, where you can send text, voice notes, and photos, and start a live internet call. It’s also possible to get documents translated by sending a sharing link.
There are additional features available to our Premium subscribers.
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All translation support and services are performed in real-time by connecting beneficiaries with a live person. The Tarjimly app connects users and translators in a chat conversation, where they can also start an internet phone call and send voice notes.
The main services of Tarjimly are free for all refugees, asylum seekers, and aid-workers to use. Our main services include the ability to request a volunteer translator an unlimited amount of times, and once you are connected with a translator on the app, you can exchange text messages, voice messages, photos and exchange phone calls.
We also have a paid-for upgraded version of the app (Tarjimly Premium) and customised language access solutions for NGOs (Tarjimly Platinum). Click on the links to learn more about those services.
Tarjimly can be used by anyone with a humanitarian purpose. Using Tarjimly for business or academics is a violation of our terms of use.
Visit Tarjimly Stories to see our impact!
Currently the Tarjimly app is only available as a mobile application for phones and tablets. It's not possible to use Tarjimly from a computer or laptop.
The Tarjimly app supports connecting to translators in 120+ languages, but only publicizes languages with a significant number of volunteer interpreters.
Take a look at our Available Languages page to get up to date information on available languages and connection rates
The average connection time on the Tarjimly app depends on the language pair. Language pairs in high supply, such as Arabic to English can take less than 30 seconds to connect, while unique language pairs may take several minutes. We recommend waiting at least 90 seconds to get matched.
Take a look at our Available Languages page to get up to date information on connection rates when users wait 90 seconds.
On the Tarjimly app, a conversation can last for as long as a translator is willing to help. We reach out to translators with an expectation of 15 minutes, but we have found translators might stay well past 60 minutes if they are truly helping someone in need.
We recommend informing our volunteer translators of the estimated time they will be needed when you start the conversation with them.
If a conversation is not ended manually, it will automatically end after 12 hours of inactivity from either side, or after 72 hours if the document filter is applied.
Tarjimly only shows your first name to the interpreter when you connect in a session. You can choose to add a photo if you like, which the interpreter will also see, but it's not necessary.
All other information, including last name, email, phone number and location are not shown to the interpreter.
Taking conversations off of the Tarjimly app is against our Terms of Use and can lead to your account being blocked.
This for the safety and security of the translator community and their personal information, in addition to keeping your information and contact details private
The Tarjimly app is HIPAA eligible, meaning we meet all HIPAA requirements in terms of protecting user data on the app.
All conversations on the Tarjimly app are deleted immediately from the translator's app once the session ends.
If you would prefer all of the session data not to be stored at all by Tarjimly, you can subscribe to Tarjimly Premium and use the "no-record" option for your session.
On Tarjimly Essentials the translators are all volunteers. Some of them are professional translators, others are bi-linguals who want to donate their time and skills to help others.
Tarjimly offers in-app trainings that for volunteers that don't have translation experience. These cover interpretation ethics, best practices of interpretation, HIPAA and trauma informed interpretation, each with an assessment.
On the Tarjimly app we don't screen translators when they sign up on the app. However we have a full-time staff member who is reviewing sessions for quality and for breaches of our code of conduct.
If you ever have concerns about a translator, please report them in the Tarjimly app or reach out to us at: team@tarjim.ly
Tarjimly offers in-app trainings that cover interpretation ethics, best practices of interpretation, HIPAA and trauma informed interpretation, each with an assessment.
It's not possible to send PDFs or other documents directly in the Tarjimly currently. We recommend uploading your document to a online drive, and getting a sharing link. You can paste this link in the chat, so the translator can access the file on their phone or computer.
If you are subscribed to Tarjimly Premium you can apply the document filter when requesting a translator. This filters for translators who can translate documents, and your session will stay open 72 hours unless manually ended.
Requirements for "Certified Translations" differ based on location and purpose for which you are translating the documents. Always diligently check the legal requirements for certified translations, such as immigration papers, birth certificates, business contracts, supporting documents for Marriage Green Cards, death certificates, and court transcripts.
In the United States, it's possible to use Tarjimly translators to translate documents for immigration court (e.g. asylum case supporting documents) the translator signs a document that confirms that they speak both languages fluently, and that they translated the documents to the best of their ability. You must ask the translator first if they're happy to do so first, before sending the document to be translated.
