In May of 2021, Hand Talk, reached the spotlight in Google Play as a social impact star. The highlight came due to its use of technology to create a more accessible world for the deaf and hard of hearing people, who use sign language to communicate, aiming to break communication barriers between hearers and members of the deaf community.
About Hand Talk app
The Hand Talk app is a pocket translator that automatically translates oral languages, both in text or audio, to sign languages, such as English to ASL (American Sign Language) or Portuguese to Libras (Brazilian Sign Language). Users can also review different signs or even learn their first ones with the help of Hugo and Maya, the two charismatic 3D virtual translators!
Recently launched in the United States, the ASL version of the app became available in July 2020. Ronaldo Tenório, co-founder and Hand Talk’s CEO, explains “Our purpose, from the very beginning, was to break communication barriers that exist between people, improving the lives of thousands around the globe. Providing the app in one more language is another step we take towards a more inclusive world, with Sign Language being even more widespread.” Since its launch, the app has already accumulated over 4 million downloads worldwide!
Even before having the app available in ASL, we already had some other international achievements! In 2013, only one year after the company was founded, we received the award for world’s best social app, nominated by the United Nations, during the World Summit Mobile in Abu-Dhabi. Ever since then, we keep collecting prizes, such as most innovative startup in Latin America, by Qprize in 2014, and most innovative solution in the world, by Gifted Citizen in 2016. More recently, in 2019, we were also selected as one of 20 organizations in the world to receive a shared investment of US$25 million from Google.org, part of the Google AI Impact Challenge.
You can download the app for free in the Play Store or also in the App Store, available for smartphones and tablets. One of the coolest parts is that the users can customize their experience with different functionalities.They can repeat translations, adjust their digital translator’s speed, rate and save their favorite translations, generate GIF messages to share with their friends, and access Hugo and Maya’s store, where it’s possible to change their clothes and design. Download our app right now and contribute to a more inclusive world, helping us to break communication barriers!