Local AI can reduce how much of a private document leaves your device—but only if the translation app, model, and every connected step stay local. Cloud translation is not one privacy category: the provider, product, and plan determine how submitted text is handled. Choose by checking the exact workflow and terms, then test translation quality separately.
What “local” and “cloud” mean for document privacy
In a local workflow, the text is processed on your device by a locally available model. In a cloud workflow, the text is sent to a provider’s infrastructure for translation. The label alone does not tell you where every part of a document workflow runs: an app may send text to a cloud service, use a cloud fallback, or connect to other services even when its model is local.
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Evaluate the whole path from file opening through translation and saving. Check the application’s routing, integrations, logs, and fallback behavior, as well as where files and results are stored. A local model runner such as Ollama documents local inference, but that does not establish that every app using it handles documents locally.
Compare the practical trade-offs
| Consideration | Local workflow | Cloud workflow | What to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where text is processed | On-device if the model and the full document workflow genuinely run locally. Apple’s Translate statement, for example, is conditional on both languages being downloaded. | The provider processes the request on its infrastructure. | App routing, cloud fallback, connected services, and the actual product used. |
| Retention and improvement | Local inference can avoid sending prompts to a model provider, but files, logs, and app behavior still matter. | Terms vary by provider and product. Google Cloud Translation API and DeepL free and Pro have different stated practices. | Retention, training or improvement use, saved history, and metadata. |
| Offline use | Possible once the model and required language assets are available locally; confirm the app’s behavior. | Requires a network connection to the translation service. | Whether models, OCR, fonts, and document conversion work offline. |
| Files and languages | Depends on the model and document app. | Supported languages and document formats depend on the product and plan. | The exact language pair, scanned-PDF OCR, layout, glossary, and formatting support. |
| Operational work | You or your organization manage installation, updates, access controls, storage, and device security. | The provider operates the infrastructure; you assess its terms, account controls, and processing location. | Institutional policy, contract, data-residency requirements, and human review. |
| Translation quality | Not established comparatively by the cited privacy and product sources. | Not established comparatively by the cited privacy and product sources. | Test representative passages and terminology with a qualified reviewer. |
What the documented services say about submitted text
Apple Translate: on-device only under a stated condition
Apple says that when both languages have been downloaded, processing takes place on the device. It also says requests use a random, rotating identifier rather than an Apple Account, email address, or other information Apple may hold from other services. This is a product-specific statement, and availability depends on the downloaded languages and the relevant device and software version. See Apple’s Translation & Privacy page.
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Google Cloud Translation API: a specific API commitment
Google says content submitted to the Cloud Translation API is used only to provide that service, is not made public or shared with third parties, and is held briefly in memory to perform and return the translation. This statement applies to the API; it should not be generalized to consumer Google Translate or other Google products. See Google’s Cloud Translation data-use FAQ.
DeepL: free and Pro terms differ
DeepL’s policy says text submitted through its free service may be processed for a limited period to train and improve its neural networks and algorithms. The policy also says not to submit personal data through the free service under its terms. For Pro, texts and documents are kept temporarily as needed to produce and transmit results, then deleted after service completion, subject to account features such as saved translations or glossaries.
The policy lists DOCX, PPTX, HTML, PDF, and TXT for Pro document translation, and DOCX, PPTX, and PDF for the free Translator. It says translation-process metadata is automatically deleted after 14 days. These details are subject to the current policy and plan. See DeepL’s privacy policy.
Processing location also needs a current check. DeepL’s policy describes document processing on infrastructure in the EEA, while its April 23, 2026 update says AWS is being added as a sub-processor and that DeepL “will no longer process data exclusively within Europe.” Its help page says processing may take place across regions by default and some plans may offer region selection. Do not treat a general location statement as a permanent guarantee; check the terms for the plan you will use. See DeepL’s infrastructure update and its data-residency help page.
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Ollama says, “We don’t see your prompts or data when you run locally.” Its documentation distinguishes a local server at http://localhost:11434/api from hosted cloud access, says local requests do not require an API key, and describes a local-only setting that disables cloud features. That supports using Ollama as one route to local model inference; it does not guarantee that an app, plugin, or document-conversion step connected to it is local, nor does it establish translation quality. See Ollama’s privacy policy, its API documentation, and its FAQ.
How to choose a workflow for a sensitive document
- Check the rules that apply to the document. Your employer, client, school, or regulator may require an approved tool or prohibit sending certain information to an external provider. Follow those rules before comparing convenience.
- Identify the exact product and plan. “Cloud translation” is too broad to assess. Confirm whether you are using a consumer tool, an API, or a business plan, and read the terms for that specific account and service.
- Map every step in the workflow. Check where the file is opened, converted, scanned with OCR, translated, logged, and saved. Confirm whether the app has cloud fallback or sends content to connected services.
- Verify the requirements for your file. Check language-pair support and whether your format, scanned pages, tables, or layout are handled. Do not assume that text translation support means full document support.
- Test quality on representative, non-sensitive material. Use passages with the same terminology, names, and formatting needs. Have a qualified person review important content; the cited product and privacy sources do not establish a comparative accuracy winner.
- Review storage and access. For local work, protect the device, translated files, and application logs. For cloud work, check retention, saved-history features, improvement or training use, account controls, and processing-region terms.
What privacy can—and cannot—tell you about quality
Privacy claims describe data handling, not whether a translation is correct or preserves document formatting. The cited sources do not compare local and cloud translation accuracy by language pair or file format. Treat quality as a separate decision: test the material you need to translate, check names and technical terminology, inspect layout, and obtain human review before relying on consequential text.
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