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How-to·May 14, 2026· 4 min read

Translate Zoom and Google Meet calls in real time (almost)

We're not there yet for full real-time call translation, but there are good workarounds for now.

By SyncDub Team

Real-time translation of Zoom and Google Meet calls is a popular feature request, and one we get at least once a week. The honest answer is: it's not a browser problem, it's a permission problem.

Why it doesn't work today

Chrome's tab audio capture only works for audio being played by the browser. In a Zoom call, the audio isn't played by the browser — it's played by the Zoom desktop client (or the Zoom web app, in some configurations). Our extension can capture the Zoom web app audio, but the meeting UI is rendered inside a complex sandboxed iframe that the extension can't always reach.

Workarounds

  • Browser-based Zoom or Meet: open the meeting in Chrome (no Zoom client). Some platforms allow this. SyncDub can capture the audio and dub it.
  • Screen-share + capture: have one participant share their screen with audio, then open that stream in a separate Chrome window with SyncDub running. Clunky, but works.
  • Pre-recorded meetings: Zoom lets you record with separate audio tracks per speaker. Use SyncDub on the recording after the meeting.

What's coming

We're working on a desktop app (macOS first, then Windows) that runs alongside the browser and captures any system audio. We're aiming for Q3 2026.

Try it yourself

Translate any video in real time.

Side-load the SyncDub extension in two minutes. 100 minutes of dubbing — yours forever.

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