Google discontinues its translate service in mainland China

Google discontinues its translate service in mainland China

Owing to low usage and a smaller number of users, Google has decided to discontinue its Translate service in mainland China. As such, the Google Translate app and its site, translate.google.cn will no more function in the Mandarin-speaking nation.

The app and site’s service’s web page in China now displays an image of a generic search bar that redirects users to Google’s Hong Kong translation site. The translation feature built into the Google Chrome browser also no longer works for Chinese users.

Earlier, Google had already discontinued its search service in China following the government’s internet content censorship rules and was exploring ways to retain some foothold in the market. That appears to now come to an end.

Google’s market share in China started seeing a downward trend, beginning in 2009 and now has a very limited presence. It's no big news since most Western social media platforms and services are blocked in the country in preference to homegrown solutions.

Currently, there’s no information available about how many users will be affected by this announcement. It’s likely that the withdrawal of service might affect other services and apps that rely on it.

Source: The Register