Translating Research Papers and Grant Applications: A Privacy-Safe Workflow for Academics

a researcher I know spent two years on a study. the findings were novel. the paper was ready for submission. she just needed to translate the abstract and discussion section from Spanish to English.

she pasted both into a free translation tool. the abstract described her methodology and key findings — findings that hadn't been published anywhere yet.

did anything bad happen? probably not. is it possible that her unpublished methodology now exists in a training dataset that could surface as autocomplete suggestions for other users? also probably not. but "probably" isn't the standard most researchers would accept for a two-year investment of work.

this post is a practical guide for academics who need to translate research documents without exposing pre-publication intellectual property.

Why academics need secure translation

the academic world has unique confidentiality concerns that don't exist in other industries:

Pre-publication IP

your unpublished findings are your most valuable academic asset. in competitive fields, being scooped — having another researcher publish your findings first — can make the difference between a career-defining paper and a footnote.

when you paste unpublished findings into a translation tool that trains on user input, you're creating a potential pathway for those findings to surface elsewhere. is the probability high? no. is it zero? also no.

Grant competition

grant applications contain your research plan, methodology, preliminary data, and budget. they represent months of strategic thinking about what you'll study and how. in competitive funding rounds, this information has direct competitive value.

Patient and participant data

medical and social science research often involves data from human subjects. this data is protected by ethics board approvals, consent agreements, and regulations (GDPR, HIPAA, institutional policies). translating documents containing participant data through an unauthorized tool may violate your ethics approval.

Peer review confidentiality

if you're reviewing papers for journals, those papers are confidential. translating a paper you're reviewing through a free tool is a breach of peer review confidentiality — even if your intention was just to understand it better.

Document types and their risk levels

not every academic document carries the same risk. here's a classification:

Low risk — translate with any tool

Document	Why it's low risk
Published papers	Already public
Course materials	Generally non-confidential
University policies	Administrative, not research
Conference abstracts (published)	Already public
Textbook excerpts	Published material

Medium risk — use a secure tool

Document	Risk factor
Unpublished manuscripts	Pre-publication IP
Grant applications	Competitive intelligence
Internal research memos	Preliminary findings
Thesis chapters (pre-defense)	Pre-publication IP
Collaboration agreements	Contractual terms

High risk — secure tool with additional precautions

Document	Risk factor	Additional precautions
Documents with participant data	Ethics/regulatory compliance	Redact all identifying information before translation
Ethics board applications	Contains methodology, participant details	Redact participant info, use zero-retention tool
Papers under review (as reviewer)	Peer review confidentiality	Use zero-retention tool, do not store translations
Patent-related documents	IP protection	Consult tech transfer office first
Clinical trial documentation	Regulatory compliance (GCP, HIPAA)	May require approved vendor only

What free translation tools do with your text

most academics use Google Translate or DeepL without thinking about data handling. here's what you should know:

Google Translate (web): Google's terms state that translations may be used to improve the service. "improve the service" includes model training. your unpublished abstract could theoretically become training data.

DeepL Free: similar to Google — free tier translations may be used for service improvement. the Pro tier has better policies, but most academics use the free version.

ChatGPT: depending on your plan, your input may be used for training. even on paid plans, the default may include training unless you specifically opt out. and LLMs have additional risks for academic translation — hallucinations, terminology drift, and inconsistency.

what this means practically: for published papers and course materials, it doesn't matter. for unpublished research, grant applications, and anything with participant data, it matters a lot.

Safe workflow for each document type

Unpublished manuscripts and abstracts

1. use a translation tool with a no-training policy and defined retention window
2. upload the full document (don't paste sections — you'll lose formatting and context)
3. download immediately
4. the auto-deletion feature ensures your manuscript doesn't persist on the server

Grant applications

1. consider whether the full application needs translation, or just key sections
2. redact budget figures if they're not relevant to the section being translated
3. use a secure tool with EU data residency (especially for EU-funded grants like Horizon Europe)
4. do not use the translation for the final submission — grant agencies typically require specific translation standards

Documents with participant data

1. always redact identifying information before uploading. names, dates of birth, ID numbers, location details, medical record numbers — remove all of it
2. use a zero-retention tool so the redacted content doesn't persist
3. verify that your ethics approval covers the use of automated translation tools as data processors
4. if your ethics approval doesn't mention translation tools, consult your ethics board before proceeding

Peer review documents

1. use a zero-retention tool — the paper must not persist on any third-party system
2. do not save the translation — review it, then delete your local copy when the review is complete
3. remember: the confidentiality obligation applies to the content, not just the file

Tips for non-English-native researchers publishing in English

this is the most common translation use case in academia: a researcher who thinks and writes in their native language, publishing in an English-language journal.

use MT for the first draft. translate your native-language manuscript into English using a secure tool. this gives you a starting point that's often 85-90% correct.

edit for academic register. machine translation produces natural English, but academic English has specific conventions: passive voice in methods sections, hedging language in discussions ("our results suggest" rather than "our results prove"), and field-specific terminology. edit the MT output to match your field's conventions.

use MT for comprehension, not for submission. if you receive reviewer comments in English and need to understand them quickly, MT is perfect. but your responses should be written (or at minimum, carefully reviewed) by a proficient English speaker.

consider professional editing. for high-stakes publications (top-tier journals, career-defining papers), many researchers use professional scientific editing services after doing the initial MT translation. this combines the speed of MT with the quality of human review.

Is it ethical to use MT for academic papers?

this is a genuine question in the academic community, and the answer is nuanced.

most journals accept MT as a drafting aid. the COPE guidelines and most major publishers distinguish between using AI for drafting (acceptable with disclosure) and using AI for generating content (requires careful disclosure).

disclosure is key. if you used MT to translate your manuscript, disclose it. a simple statement in the acknowledgments or methods: "The manuscript was initially translated from [language] using [tool] and subsequently edited by the authors."

the ethical line is originality, not language. the concern isn't whether you used MT for language translation. it's whether the ideas, analysis, and conclusions are genuinely yours. translation is a language operation, not an intellectual one.

check your target journal's policy. some journals have specific policies on AI-assisted writing. check before submitting.

Takeaways

• unpublished research, grant applications, and participant data all require secure translation — not just any free tool
• classify your documents by risk level and match the tool to the sensitivity
• for documents with participant data: always redact identifying information before translation
• for peer review: use a zero-retention tool and don't save the translation
• MT is an excellent first-draft tool for non-English-native researchers — edit for academic register and disclose usage
• when in doubt, check your ethics approval and your target journal's AI policy

Further reading

• The 5 Best Translation Tools That Don't Train on Your Data
• 30-Minute Self-Destruct: Why Auto-Deletion Matters
• Which translation services should I use for sensitive documents?
• Why not Google or DeepL?
• Why You Should NEVER Use ChatGPT for Sensitive Translations