Helping someone check an app's languages

Checking an app’s languages is a small job that matters a great deal. Look at the store listing and the provider’s website before installing, and ask the person which language they would like.

Your role is to find the information. Their role is to decide.

Why check the language before installing?

An app in a language that feels foreign adds effort to something that was meant to be easy. Your mother may read Tamil comfortably and find English menus tiring. Your father may speak Hokkien at home but read Chinese characters well.

Checking first saves a download, a confusing first screen and a quiet sense of failure. It also shows that you took their comfort seriously.

Where do I look?

Each place below answers a slightly different question.

• The app’s store listing: look for the section with details about the app and the languages it names.
• The provider’s website: check any help or frequently asked questions page.
• The app itself, once installed: look for a language or settings option, and ask the person to tap it.
• The provider’s contact page: use it when the listing does not say.

Write down what you find, in plain words, on a note or in your phone. That way you are not relying on memory when you talk to the family.

How do I ask without taking over?

Begin with a question, not a decision. Something like: “Which language is easiest for you to read on a screen?” Then wait.

Listening matters because reading, speaking and understanding are different skills. Someone may chat in Malay, read Chinese and prefer instructions in English.

Try this: a short language check together

Set aside ten relaxed minutes, perhaps after dinner or over kopi.

1. Ask which language they find easiest to read, and which to listen to.
2. Open the store listing on your own phone or on theirs, with their say.
3. Read aloud what the listing says about languages.
4. Ask if that matches what they hoped for.
5. Let them decide whether to install, wait or look elsewhere.
6. Note the answer so the next family visit does not start from zero.

If they say no, accept it kindly. A decision not to install is a real decision.

What if the language they want is not offered?

You have learned something useful. Try another resource in their language, or ask the provider whether the language is planned.

Our guide on preparing questions about language access shows how to ask a provider clearly. Do not translate on their behalf for a long session unless they ask, because it can turn a private activity into a shared one.

What about their privacy?

Their phone holds messages, photos and bank apps. Keep your eyes on the screen you were invited to look at.

Ask before you open settings, and say what you are about to do. If you are unsure, hand the phone back and let them tap.

Fitting it into family life

Family WhatsApp groups can help. A short message such as “I checked which languages this app has, shall we look at it on Sunday?” gives the person time to think.

If they feel rushed or embarrassed by technology, slow down. A relaxed, short session works better than a long lesson, and you can pick it up again next week.

If the task leaves you or them feeling low, or you are worried about their wellbeing, please speak to a doctor or counsellor, or read our support page.

Where to go next

Our guide on explaining a new app to a parent covers the step after the language is chosen. If small text is a problem, see preparing a large-print guide.

Our parenting and caring guides collect the other guides for looking after family.

When you are ready to pause, Sadhguru’s free seven-minute guided meditation in the Miracle of Mind app is an optional way to sit quietly together, and its listing is worth checking for language first.