Lokia v1 : Learn Languages in Context, Not in Boring Lists

Hey Indie Hackers 👋

After about 3 months of solo dev (well ofc with AI), I’m excited (and honestly, a bit relieved) to finally launch the first version of Lokia — a browser extension and platform to help people learn languages through real, interesting content.

Why did I build this?

I’m a cybersecurity engineer by training, but I’ve always been passionate about language learning. As a French native, I’ve taught myself English, Italian, and Russian (well I'm still learning🙃) — but I always found traditional language learning, especially in school, incredibly boring and disconnected from real life.

You know the drill: endless vocab lists, weird sentences you’d never use, and zero context. Most apps out there just make you memorize random words you’ll never say. I wanted something different.

So I built Lokia.

Lokia lets you learn languages by watching YouTube videos you actually enjoy. Hover over any word for an instant translation, save it to your personal vocab, and review it later — all in context, all synced to your account. No more “the cat is under the table” unless you’re actually watching a video about cats under tables. 😅

Why does this matter to me?

Because context is everything. I learned English (at school too ofc), Italian, and Russian by diving into content I loved — not by grinding through flashcards of words I’d never use. I wanted to make that experience accessible to everyone, not just language nerds like me.

How long did it take?

About 3-4 months of evenings, weekends. I built the extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, plus a web platform for reviewing and practicing your saved words.

- More integrations (Netflix, podcasts, video importation, new games...)

- Community features

If you’re learning a language, or just curious, I’d love your feedback. Try it out, break it, tell me what you’d actually want to use.

Thanks for reading, and happy to support your projects too!

Louis

Founder, Lokia