Until 2019 websites could implement the Google translate widget that made it possible for visitors to select a language from a dropdown menu. The website would then be translated automatically into the desired language. Although this is a useful service, there have been some severe concerns about whether this service is truly compliant with privacy laws such as the GDPR, and with accessibility requirements such as ADA/WCAG.
The C.I.A.
During a Cookie Impact Assessment (CIA), the Cookiedatabase.org moderators discovered that the widget placed functional cookies (such as googtrans) and Third-Party Marketing and Tracking cookies such as NID and 1p_JAR, as well.
Significantly, these Third-Party cookies were set based on interaction, without much evidence of when and which cookie would be set. This unpredictable behavior can prove challenging for Consent Management plugins to control.
Deprecated
In 2019 Google officially deprecated the widget for unknown reasons. New users can’t download the widget (with some minor exceptions). Although current users are still allowed to keep using the widget, there is no guarantee for how long it will keep on functioning without problems.
Because of the privacy concerns mentioned above, we advise all websites to no longer use the Google Translate widget and choose a local, and self-hosted alternative like Polylang or WPML.
