The German Profile That Couldn't Be Translated

Picture this: You're browsing Bumble and encounter an intriguing profile written entirely in German. As a non-native speaker, you want to understand her story—so you attempt to select the text for translation. But you can't. The app has disabled text selection. What should be a simple copy-paste task becomes an arduous process involving screenshots, OCR tools, and manual transcription. As developer Artyom Bologov describes, this friction often leads to abandoned connections, even when profiles seem promising.

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Text as a Fundamental Web Primitive

Disabling text selection (often via CSS's user-select: none;) transforms words into de facto images—locking away meaning behind artificial barriers. This violates core principles of the web:

  • Accessibility Failure: Screen readers and assistive technologies rely on selectable text for navigation
  • Broken Interoperability: Users can't leverage browser tools for translation, search, or annotation
  • Cognitive Overhead: Forcing workarounds like OCR creates unnecessary friction

"Whenever you disable text selection/copying on your UI, you commit a crime against comprehension. Crime against accessibility. Crime against the meaning," argues Bologov.

Why Developers Make This Mistake

Common justifications include preventing content scraping or maintaining visual design integrity. But these are weak arguments:

  1. Determined scrapers bypass selection locks effortlessly
  2. CSS offers user-select: text; for specific elements if protection is truly needed
  3. Design purity shouldn't compromise core functionality

The real cost? Lost opportunities for connection, comprehension, and accessibility compliance—especially critical for multilingual users.

Reclaiming Text's Purpose

Text remains humanity's most efficient information vehicle because it's:

  • Lightweight: Consumes minimal bandwidth
  • Transformable: Adaptable via translation, summarization, or screen readers
  • Referenceable: Enables deep linking and knowledge sharing

Developers must recognize that disabling selection treats text as decoration rather than communication. In an increasingly global digital landscape, this isn't just poor UX—it's digital exclusion. The solution is simple: remove user-select: none; unless you have an exceptionally compelling, accessibility-reviewed reason. Let text fulfill its purpose.