What LocalePilot sends to AI and translation providers

Verified against the LocalePilot source code on 30/10/2026 (commit b84b323).

When text is sent

LocalePilot works on your Mac. Your files and its local database stay there. Text is sent to a provider in four cases only:

you launch a translation in the AI batch translation window;
you add a language with Translate automatically with … checked in Add a language. This box is checked by default when a provider is set up, and the translation starts in the background, without the Before you launch panel;
you launch an AI audit of existing translations in the AI audit window (Pro, AI models only);
you click Adapt with AI on the Store listings screen (Pro, AI models only).

Clicking Test in Settings, AI provider also contacts the provider. For AI models it only asks for the list of models, without any of your text. For Microsoft Translator, Google Cloud Translation and LibreTranslate, it translates the word “Hello” from English to French. For DeepL, it reads your account usage.

Comparison by type of provider

Three types of provider receive different things. Cloud AI models: OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini and DeepSeek. Local AI models: Ollama and LM Studio. Machine translation: Microsoft Translator, Google Cloud Translation and LibreTranslate. DeepL is a machine translation service with its own column, because it also receives context and a glossary.

For each text to translate	Cloud AI	Local AI	Machine translation	DeepL
Source text	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Key name	Yes	Yes	No	Yes, as context
Description and group of the key	Yes	Yes	No	Yes, as context
Current translation in the target language	Yes, if not empty	Yes, if not empty	No	No
Up to 6 neighboring keys of the same group	Yes	Yes	No	No
Up to 2 translations of the same key in other languages	Yes	Yes	No	No
Approved glossary terms	Yes, if the option is on	Yes, if the option is on	No	Yes, if the option is on
Project translation context	Yes, if filled in	Yes, if filled in	No	No
Leaves your Mac	Yes	No, only with a local endpoint and a locally running model	Microsoft and Google: yes. LibreTranslate: no, with the default address	Yes
Left in your provider account by LocalePilot	Nothing	Nothing	Nothing	One glossary per language pair
API key	Required	Ollama: none. LM Studio: optional	Microsoft and Google: required. LibreTranslate: optional	Required

An AI audit sends the same items to an AI model, for already translated cells only, with their current translation: see AI audit.

The details for each provider:

What is never sent

Your files themselves, their names and their paths on disk.
The name of your project. LocalePilot does not add it to requests. Your texts are sent as they are written, so a name that appears inside a text is sent with that text.
Glossary terms marked as forbidden, and glossary terms that are not approved.

Check before you launch

In the AI batch translation window, open Before you launch before you start. It shows:

the real address the text is sent to, and whether it is local (this Mac), on your local network, remote or an unknown destination;
how many requests the run makes;
a preview of the keys included, and what context travels with them.

LocalePilot also warns you when an address starts with http:// and does not point to this Mac: your text, and any API key, would then travel unencrypted.

Options that change what is sent

Use approved glossary, in the AI batch translation window (Pro): when it is off, no glossary term is sent. The project translation context is sent either way.
The project's Translation context: Business domain, Audience, Tone and Style guide. Whatever you enter there is sent to AI models with every translation, and no option leaves it out. To stop sending it, leave these fields empty.
Translate automatically with …, in Add a language: uncheck it if you do not want the new language to be translated as soon as it is added. When it runs, the approved glossary is included.
Batch size sets how many texts go into each request.
A text already translated in the same conditions (same source text, context, glossary, provider and model) is taken from a local cache and is not sent again.

Store listings

Adapt with AI works with AI models only, cloud or local, and uses the provider selected in Settings. It sends the source fields of your listing that are not empty, the language codes and the length limit of each field. Before sending, LocalePilot replaces your project's name, the approved glossary terms that stay the same in every language, and every web address with neutral markers, then puts them back in the answer. The translation glossary and the project translation context are not sent.

AI audit

The AI audit has an AI model reread the translations that already exist in a target language. The model reports problems and suggests corrections. You start it with Audit … with AI on the Review screen or in the command palette, or with Audit with AI in the selection bar of the Translate screen. The audit works only with AI models, in the cloud or local: machine translation services, DeepL included, are not offered. It requires LocalePilot Pro, including with Ollama or LM Studio.

Only cells already translated in the audited language are sent: those in your selection on the Translate screen, otherwise all of them in that language. A key without a translation is not sent. Keys go in batches of 10, one request per batch. For each key, the request contains:

an opaque identifier (u0, u1…) that says nothing about the key;
the key name and the source text;
the current translation in the audited language;
the description and group of the key, if it has them;
the placeholders of the source text;
the plural categories expected in the target language, for plural messages;
up to 6 neighboring keys of the same group, with their name and source text;
up to 2 translations of the same key in other languages of the project.

For the whole request: the source and target language codes, the project's Translation context if it is filled in, and the approved glossary terms that apply to the target language. The audit has no option to leave the glossary out.

Before you launch it, the AI audit window shows the Before you launch panel, with the actual address, the number of requests and a preview of the keys. The corrections received are saved in LocalePilot as AI drafts, never in your files. On a value that was reviewed, approved or edited by hand, the correction waits for your decision.

Where your API keys are stored

Each API key is stored in the macOS Keychain, one entry per provider. It is never written to LocalePilot's settings file, which only holds the address, the model and the options of each provider. The addresses of DeepL, Microsoft Translator and Google Cloud Translation cannot be changed, so their key can only go to them. For the other providers, the key goes to the address set in Settings.

What is sent to AI and translation providers