Echoly
Translates YouTube audio into your language while the video plays.
The problem #
Subtitles make you read instead of watch, and auto-translated ones are often worse than nothing. A talk in a language you do not speak stays closed to you even when the whole internet is one click away.
The approach #
A Chrome extension that taps the page audio, translates it, and speaks it back in near real time. Two tiers: a realtime one measured in hundreds of milliseconds, and a cheaper standard one for anything not live. You bring your own API key, so the cost is yours and the margin is not hidden.
Where it is now #
Paused since June 2026. The extension still works and the source is open, but nothing has shipped in three months and the original domain has lapsed.
What happens if this works #
Language stops deciding which talks you get to watch. The idea still holds; the timing did not.
Evidence #
- 47 stars, 25 forks on GitHub as of 2026-09-12
- 13 languages supported at the last release, 2026-06-18
- n/a, one paid transaction during the May 2026 launch and none since