diff --git a/.github/CODEOWNERS b/.github/CODEOWNERS
index b55814b198c..cb476b4ed4b 100644
--- a/.github/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/.github/CODEOWNERS
@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@ go.sum @grafana/backend-platform
 /contribute/architecture/backend @grafana/backend-platform
 /contribute/engineering/backend @grafana/backend-platform
 
+/public/locales @grafana/user-essentials
 /e2e @grafana/user-essentials
 /packages @grafana/user-essentials @grafana/plugins-platform-frontend @grafana/grafana-bi-squad
 /packages/grafana-e2e-selectors @grafana/user-essentials
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index de09cda0031..d35fb8b890c 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ You can contribute to Grafana in several ways. Here are some examples:
 - Organize meetups and user groups in your local area.
 - Help others by answering questions about Grafana.
 
+**Please note:** We do not currently accept contributions for translations. Please do not submit pull requests for messages.po files - they will be rejected.
+
 For more ways to contribute, check out the [Open Source Guides](https://opensource.guide/how-to-contribute/).
 
 ### Report bugs
diff --git a/contribute/internationalization.md b/contribute/internationalization.md
index 0e32a685e7b..726aca8a8c8 100644
--- a/contribute/internationalization.md
+++ b/contribute/internationalization.md
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ Grafana uses the [LinguiJS](https://github.com/lingui/js-lingui) framework for m
 - Use `<Trans id="search-results.panel-link">Go to {panel.title}</Trans>` in code to add a translatable phrase
 - Translations are stored in .po files in `public/locales/{locale}/messages.po`
 - If a particular phrase is not available in the a language then it will fall back to English
+- To update phrases in English, edit the `en/messages.po` file, not the source JSX
+- To update phrases in any translated language, edit the phrase in Crowdin
+
+**Please note:** We do not currently accept contributions for translations. Please do not submit pull requests for messages.po files - they will be rejected.
 
 ## How to add a new translation phrase
 
diff --git a/public/locales/es-ES/messages.po b/public/locales/es-ES/messages.po
index ca1251cb1e7..b4f8732083f 100644
--- a/public/locales/es-ES/messages.po
+++ b/public/locales/es-ES/messages.po
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ msgstr ""
 "X-Crowdin-File: /main/public/locales/en-US/messages.po\n"
 "X-Crowdin-File-ID: 59\n"
 
+# Don't edit this file manually - translations must be managed within Crowdin
+
 #: public/app/core/components/SharedPreferences/SharedPreferences.tsx
 msgid "common.locale.default"
 msgstr ""
diff --git a/public/locales/fr-FR/messages.po b/public/locales/fr-FR/messages.po
index 1b811cec898..360470d205c 100644
--- a/public/locales/fr-FR/messages.po
+++ b/public/locales/fr-FR/messages.po
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ msgstr ""
 "X-Crowdin-File: /main/public/locales/en-US/messages.po\n"
 "X-Crowdin-File-ID: 59\n"
 
+# Don't edit this file manually - translations must be managed within Crowdin
+
 #: public/app/core/components/SharedPreferences/SharedPreferences.tsx
 msgid "common.locale.default"
 msgstr ""
diff --git a/public/locales/pseudo-LOCALE/messages.po b/public/locales/pseudo-LOCALE/messages.po
index 549b2f331dc..d34526fceaa 100644
--- a/public/locales/pseudo-LOCALE/messages.po
+++ b/public/locales/pseudo-LOCALE/messages.po
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ msgstr ""
 "Language-Team: \n"
 "Plural-Forms: \n"
 
+# Don't edit this file manually - translations must be managed within Crowdin
+
 #: public/app/core/components/SharedPreferences/SharedPreferences.tsx
 msgid "common.locale.default"
 msgstr ""