🌐 Mobile & Access Improvements

• Auto-Language Detection: To make the first steps even easier, the app now automatically uses your phone's system language as the default during signup.

• Simplified Mobile Sign-In: Users can now simply scan a QR code directly from the app to join a session instantly.

• 6-Character Codes: We’ve shortened sign-in codes to 6 characters for easier manual entry.

• Backwards Compatibility: All your old QR codes will still work perfectly—no need to print new ones!

• Persistent Church History: Users can now see a list of previously joined churches, even when signing in with a new guest account.

👤 Account & Profile Management

• Guest to Permanent: Seamlessly transform a guest account into a permanent one without losing your history.

• Social Sign-In: Link or sign in using Google or Apple directly within the settings menu for a faster login experience.

  

• Profile Updates: You can now update your name and email address directly in the settings.

🎙️ Admin, Support & Community

• Audio Recording Indicator: The Translations page now features a live audio indicator while recording, providing visual peace of mind that your stream is active.

• New Help & Feedback Hub (Featurebase): We’ve integrated Featurebase to host our Helpcenter, Changelog, and public Roadmap.

  • AI Support Chat: Use the new chatbox to talk to an AI trained on our Helpcenter for instant answers, or connect with me directly.

    

  • Your Voice Matters: We have optimized our internal processes to deliver new features even quicker. Please use the Featurebase/Chat integration to request new features or upvote ideas from others! This helps us prioritize what matters most to your church.

  • https://churchtranslation.featurebase.app/roadmap

🚀 Coming Soon

• Church Announcement Page: Admins will soon be able to create formatted announcements that appear in the mobile app in the visitor's selected language.

• App Store & Play Store Launch: Native iOS and Android apps are in final testing and will be submitted shortly after the Announcement feature is finalized.

• Desktop Admin Apps: Native macOS and Windows versions are coming to allow recording control via external hardware.

We are thrilled to announce a new update bringing enhancements to user management, online activity monitoring, and various improvements within Church Translation.

You can now export the list of current users as a CSV

Steps:

• Go to User Management page

• Click on Download CSV in the Current users section (bottom right)

• The CSV will contain: Name and Email (if available), the selected language and the last login date

User Management page shows who’s online now

The user is online if there is a green dot next to the name

You can now see who is online on the Translation Page

We added a new section Users Online to the Translation Page.

• Here you can see who is currently online

• You can see

  • the Name and Email (if user signed up with Google or Apple)

  • the selected language

The Statistics Page will show the Cost by day accurately again

We introduced a bug during the last release, causing the Cost by day to show nothing. This is fixed now!

Split Sentences should not cut off too long text anymore

The split sentences feature on the Preparations Page did cut off text if it was too long. This is resolved now!

Please review the 👉 The Split Sentences Rules if you’re using Preparations as your translation tool.

Reduced lag for audio output on the mobile app

The text-to-speech (audio output) feature on the mobile app lagged behind the actual preaching quite a bit for two reasons:

1. the audio files were downloaded from our server once the text was ready to be spoken

2. the playback rate was set too low

Improvements

1. We’re now downloading up to 5 audio files in advance to reduce the time between the end of one file and the start of another

2. We increased the playback rate to 1.3 to not fall behind the actual preaching but still sound natural

3. In case the listening feature falls behind the actual preaching, we will not automatically scroll to the bottom anymore. Instead scroll to the actual text spoken.

We will enhance our support process very soon

We will be rolling out detailed articles about Church Translation

• Getting started guides

• Tips and Tricks

• General information (language support, pricing, etc)

The articles will be available in English and German.

Please checkout the first articles in 👉 The Help center.

The Changelog moved from a page on the actual website to 👉 here and will be released in English and German going forward.

PS: On that page you will also see “Feedback” and “Roadmap”. You will hear more about that soon!

Happy translation!

🎙️ Intelligent Speech-to-Text Upgrade

• AI-Driven Sentence Detection: Replaced "silence timers" with AI that detects natural sentence endings for faster, more responsive translations.

• Unified Language Models: Replaced regional accents with a single, high-performance model per language (e.g., one model for all English accents).

• Swiss German Note: While Swiss German is supported, we recommend using High German for maximum accuracy. Please test your specific setup before going live.

• Keyword Optimization: Added a 100-keyword limit to maintain high speeds. Your existing custom keywords have been prioritized.

• Action Required: We recommend testing the new system before your next Sunday service.

💰 Simplified Pricing Model

• No Hourly Fees: The €1.00 per hour Speech-to-Text fee has been completely removed.

• Flat Translation Rate: Pricing is now a simple €0.01 per 150 characters translated.

• Invoice Updates: Existing customers may still see a "Speech to Text" line item on upcoming invoices, but the charge will be €0.00 while we transition.

📱 Mobile App & Connectivity

• Stabilized Connections: Fixed real-time connection issues, specifically improving reliability for iOS users.

• Smart Reconnection: If a connection drops, the app now automatically reconnects and uses a 3-second "polling" system to ensure no translations are missed.

• Legacy Support: Restored compatibility for older smartphones to ensure all congregation members can stay connected.

🛠️ Additional Improvements

• Accurate "Users Online" Count: Overhauled the tracking system to provide significantly more accurate live attendance data.

• Extended Dictate Mode: Removed the 1-hour auto-disconnect to allow for uninterrupted workflows.

We've integrated a dedicated Billing Management Portal to simplify how you handle your Church Translation subscription.

• Access the Billing Portal: You can now directly open the billing portal right from your application settings.

• Self-Service Subscription Management:

  • Cancel Your Subscription

  • Update Payment Methods: Change your credit card or other payment details securely.

  • View Billing History: Access and download past invoices and receipts for your records.

• Powered by Stripe: All payment processing and sensitive financial data handling is managed securely by our trusted partner, Stripe. Church Translation does not store your payment information directly.​

• We've introduced an option to automatically approve new language requests from your users.

• To enable this feature, simply navigate to your settings and toggle on "Automatically approve languages".

• Please consider that every activated language will incur additional costs.

• You can now paste a long sermon transcript and automatically split the content into individual sentences on the Preparations page.

• This will create a separate "preparations" entry for each sentence, making it easier to manage and translate your sermon.

• To use this feature, simply paste your text, select the "split by sentences" option, and watch as your transcript is perfectly segmented for translation.

We're excited to announce a new feature in the Dictation mode: Semantic mode ("Send sentences automatically when complete"). This new option uses advanced AI to intelligently determine the end of phrases, providing a more natural and accurate transcription experience.

• What is Semantic Segmentation? Unlike the traditional time-based segmentation which cuts off a phrase after a set period of silence, semantic segmentation uses AI to understand the meaning and flow of a sentence. This feature is especially beneficial for fast speakers, as it ensures that phrases are not prematurely cut off.

• How to Use It: You can now choose between "Semantic" and "Time" segmentation types in the speech-to-text settings. Simply navigate to the settings and select your preferred method.

• Automatic Fallback: If you select "Semantic" but the language you are using is not yet supported, the app will automatically revert to the "Time" based segmentation to ensure a seamless experience.

• Supported Languages: Semantic Segmentation is currently available for the following languages:

  • English (en-US, en-GB)

  • Chinese (zh-CN, zh-HK)

  • Japanese (ja-JP)

  • Korean (ko-KR)

  • German (de-DE)

  • French (fr-FR)

  • Italian (it-IT)

  • Spanish (es-ES, es-MX)

  • Hindi (hi-IN)

  • Portuguese (pt-BR, pt-PT)

  • Turkish (tr-TR)

  • Russian (ru-RU)

  • Thai (th-TH)

  • Indonesian (id-ID)

• We have integrated Google Cloud's cutting-edge voice generation technology to make our text-to-speech voices sound more human-like and expressive

• Human-Like Intonation: Translated content now has more natural intonation, making sermons and other messages sound more authentic and engaging.

• Expanded Voice Library: You now have access to a significantly wider array of high-quality, natural-sounding voices, allowing you to choose the perfect tone.

• Supported languages

  • ​Bashkir, Chinese (Literary), Dari, Divehi, Faroese, Fijian, Ganda, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hmong Daw, Igbo, Inuinnaqtun, Kinyarwanda, Konkani, Kurdish (Central), Kurdish (Northern), Kyrgyz, Lingala, Lower Sorbian, Maithili, Malagasy, Nyanja, Querétaro Otomi, Rundi, Samoan, Sesotho, Sesotho sa Leboa, Setswana, Shona, Sindhi, Tahitian, Tatar, Māori, Mongolian (Traditional), Tibetan, Tigrinya, Tongan, Turkmen, Upper Sorbian, Uyghur, Xhosa, Yoruba, Yucatec Maya, Swahili