Accounts & trust

Google Account web language: change the right preference

Choose the account’s web language without expecting it to change every mobile app or browser translation.

Google menus appear in an unexpected language, while your computer’s settings look correct. Check the language preference of the Google Account you are actually using. Google’s documented account setting controls its services on the web; it is a different setting from your phone’s app language or the browser translating a page.

Set the language for the intended account

Open the Language section of your Google Account at myaccount.google.com/language. Confirm the account before editing, especially if several accounts are signed in. Choose Edit, search for the preferred language and select it. If you understand another language, the page also offers Add another language.

For example, you may want English menus while still understanding Spanish content. Keep the preferred language and additional languages deliberate rather than assuming that visiting a Spanish page should change all menus. Google says to close and reopen the browser after changing preferences; save unfinished work first.

Check automatically added languages separately

Google can label a frequently used language “Added for you”. You can save or remove that entry, or turn off Automatically add languages. Removing an automatically added entry is a different decision from choosing your preferred language.

Reopen a Google web service in the intended account and check its menus. A mobile app may still follow device language settings. If the selected language is unavailable, Google may ask for an alternate language; check the language page for that choice. Do not clear all cookies as the first experiment: Google’s troubleshooting notes that doing so also removes settings for other sites. No account preference, cookie or browser setting was changed for this article.

Sources & further reading

  1. Google — Change your language on the web

Sources support the technical explanations. Examples and suggested checks are editorial guidance.