Why does Sonic say Google is limiting requests?

Sonic Translate gets its translations from Google Translate's free web service. When Google receives a lot of requests from one network in a short time, it briefly stops answering them. Sonic then shows: "Google's free translation service is limiting requests; try again in a minute." Wait a minute, then press Try again.

Why does it happen?

Google decides how many translation requests it accepts, not Sonic. Sonic uses Google's free service rather than a paid Google Cloud API, so there is no account or key behind your requests, and Google may briefly refuse some of them (technically an HTTP 429 or 403 response). It usually happens when:

• many translations are triggered in quick succession, for example selecting word after word very fast;
• many people share one internet connection, such as an office, school, or VPN, so their requests add up;
• Google is simply limiting traffic for a while.

It does not mean your data was used, that anything is wrong with your browser, or that Sonic has a usage meter. Sonic counts nothing on a server and has no paid tier to unlock.

What can I do?

1. Wait about a minute, then press Try again in the popup or panel.
2. Select a whole sentence or paragraph instead of many single words in a row.
3. If you use a VPN or a shared network, try switching the VPN off or using another connection.

If the message keeps coming back for more than an hour on a normal home connection, write to [email protected] and tell us your browser and roughly when it started.

Is my selected text stored anywhere while this happens?

No. The text you select is sent only to Google Translate over HTTPS to produce your translation, the same as always. When Google refuses a request, nothing is saved and nothing is retried in the background. The details are on the privacy page.