Not everyone fancies Twitter’s new auto-generated video caption (feature).
There’s no denying that many Twitter users have groused about the inability to disable the subtitles that seem to cover portions of some Twitter videos.
In simple terms, these subtitles are auto-generated Twitter captions and while they’re intended to enable deaf people to understand the videos (by reading the captions), dozens of Twitter users have frowned upon the presence of these captions. These users are annoyed most probably because they can’t find any toggle that lets them easily deactivate the captions.
If you’re one of the Twitter users looking to do away with these captions, rest assured that this post will guide you on how to turn off auto-generated Twitter captions on your (iOS/Android) smartphone.
Turning off Twitter Captions
Steps to Disable Twitter Captions on iPhones
There’s a clear and easy-to-follow process that lets you completely turn off Twitter’s auto (video) captions on your iPhone. Below are the steps to disable auto-generated Twitter captions on iPhones:
- Head to your iPhone’s app menu, or wherever the mobile Twitter app is on the phone, and open the app
- Once your Twitter home feed shows up, simply navigate to any of the Twitter videos with auto captions
- After locating a video with a caption, you’ll have to open the video in the full-screen view
- Just click the video and ensure it is in the full-screen mode
- While the video is in the full-screen mode, press and hold any part of the video till a menu bar shows up
- Within this menu bar, scroll to and select the Open in Chrome It’s within the Chrome browser that you’ll complete subsequent steps involved in switching off auto-generated Twitter captions
- If you’re unable to find the Open in Chromeoption, probably because you’re yet to download and install Chrome on your iPhone, you may just have to download and install the browser so that you can proceed
- After downloading and installing Chrome, return to the Twitter video you opened earlier. Press and hold any part of the video for a menu bar to show up. Look for and click the Open in Chromeoption in the menu bar
- Start playing this video, which is now in Chrome, by clicking on the video. You’ll also have to flip the video to the full-screen mode using the “maximize” button attached to the video. You’ll find this button on the right-hand side down the video
- Now that the video is playing in the full-screen mode within Chrome, check the right corner of the bottom of the video for a three-dot icon
- Click this icon –which looks like three dots –so that you can access the Captionsoption
- Once this Captionsoption appears, click it and then select the Off With this done, you won’t have to worry about auto Twitter captions anymore as all the Twitter videos on your iPhone will be free from auto-generated captions
Even though the process above –for disabling auto Twitter captions on iPhones –appears quite lengthy, the good thing is that the steps in it are damn easy to follow.
Disabling Twitter Captions on Android
While it is possible for iPhone users to completely remove Twitter’s auto video captions by disabling the captions, the case is quite different for Android users.
Instead of having the captions completely removed, what Android users can do is downsizing the captions to such an extent that they no longer appear annoying. When the captions become very small on your video screen, chances are that they won’t mar your viewing pleasure. This is why we’d like to show Android users how they can significantly reduce the size of auto-generated Twitter (video) captions.
Steps to Downsize Twitter Captions on Android
- For this process, you won’t have to open the Twitter mobile app on your Android phone. Simply open the Settingsmenu of the phone instead
- Within this menu, endeavor to locate the Accessibilitysection wherever it is. You may find this section directly or in Additional Settings, depending on your kind of Android phone
- Within the Accessibilitysection, scroll to and click Hearing, Hearing enhancements or whatever related option, depending on your phone
- Scroll to the option Caption Preferences. Depending on your Android device, the name for this option could be different
- After that, click the Caption sizeand style If you don’t find this exact button, click any button that lets you modify “Text size” for captions/subtitles
- Go to Text sizeand select Very Small. Depending on your kind of Android phone, you may instead have to use a toggle in reducing the captions to the smallest possible size. You’ll likely see a preview of what the captions will look like as you try to downsize using this toggle
Twitter CC Button –What Is It Used for?
Twitter’s CC button is a newly released feature which lets users of the Twitter mobile app activate or deactivate auto captions for videos within the app. While the closed-captioned button is available to users of the Twitter mobile app on both Android and iOS device platforms, it’s a special feature which lets you enable/disable the subtitle of the video you’re playing.
If you’re playing a Twitter video that’s in a foreign language, you may want the video subtitled in a language –probably English –that you understand. In this case, Twitter’s closed-captioned (CC) button will especially prove handy for enabling auto-generated captions. With such captions added to the videos you’re playing on Twitter, you’ll be able to understand the videos even if you don’t understand the original language used in the videos. Why this is so is that Twitter’s auto-generated captions are available in 30+ languages, including Arabic, English, Chinese, Spanish, etc.
How to use the button for disabling auto captions on Twitter
It’s very easy to use Twitter’s newly released closed-captioned button in disabling auto-generated captions on Twitter. Using this button is, in fact, a great alternative to the rather long process we explained earlier on how to disable Twitter’s video captions.
The only downside about Twitter’s CC button is that the feature is available only to select users; it’s quite unfortunate that the feature is available only in certain countries.
If you’re unable to find any CC toggle, that lets you enable/disable captions within Twitter videos, the reason is probably that your country is not yet in the list of supported regions for the feature. If you can’t find the CC button whereas Twitter has released the feature in your country, the reason could be that you’re using an outdated version of Twitter’s mobile app. We suggest that you download and install the latest version of the app.
To use the CC button for disabling auto-generated video captions on Twitter, simply follow the steps below:
- Open the Twitter mobile app on your smartphone
- Within the app, navigate to any video you intend to play
- Once you start playing the video, you’ll see a “CC” icon within the video frame. This icon is exactly located in the top right-hand side of the video frame
- If the video is playing along with a caption, all you need to disable this caption is to click the CC icon within the video frame
- With the CC icon clicked, you’ll see that the caption has stopped showing in the playing video. If you want to enable the caption (probably because you’re in a very noisy place and would like to read the video caption to understand what is being said in the video), all you need is to click the CC icon again.
FAQs
What Are Auto-generated Twitter Captions?
They are automatic captions that appear in some Twitter videos just to let you see/read the text for what is being said in the videos. In other words, these captions are the auto-generated subtitles of the Twitter videos. This auto-generated caption (feature) was recently introduced by Twitter.
Is Twitter’s Auto-generated Video Caption Useful?
There are mixed reactions toward Twitter’s auto-generated captions. While some Twitter users find them annoying, especially when the captions seem to appear all over videos being played on Twitter, these captions are actually important.
The chief importance of Twitter’s auto video captions lies in the fact that they enable the auditorily impaired (among Twitter users) to understand Twitter videos by reading their captions. Without any doubt, the latter is enough justification for Twitter’s resolve to add captions to videos.
Quite interestingly, these captions will also prove useful to Twitter users who might want to read the subtitle of a Twitter video that’s in a foreign language. If you’re viewing a Twitter video in a foreign language that you don’t understand, Twitter’s auto video captions come handy. Why this is so is that these captions are available in 30+ languages, including Arabic, English, Chinese, Spanish, etc.
Can I Completely Turn off Twitter’s Auto Captions?
Yes, and Twitter’s newly released CC button is the best way to turn off (and even turn on) the captions. But because the CC button is available only to select Twitter users, you might want to know if there are alternative ways to completely turn off the captions.
While it is possible for iPhone users to completely remove Twitter’s auto video captions by disabling the captions, the case is quite different for Android users. Instead of having the captions completely removed, what Android users can do is downsizing the captions to such an extent that they no longer appear annoying. When the captions become very small on your video screen, chances are that they won’t mar your viewing pleasure.
Why Can’t I Use Twitter’s New CC Button?
One unfortunate downside about Twitter’s CC button is that the feature is available only to select users; it’s quite sad that the feature is available only in certain countries.
If you’re unable to find any CC toggle, that lets you enable/disable video captions, within your Twitter mobile app, the reason is probably that your country is not yet in the list of supported regions for the feature. If you can’t find the CC button whereas Twitter has released the feature in your country, the reason could be that you’re using an outdated version of Twitter’s mobile app. We suggest that you download and install the latest version of the app.
In What Languages Are Twitter Captions Available?
Twitter’s auto-generated video captions are available in many languages including, but not limited to, English, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. We do not have a comprehensive list of these languages, but according to official reports, the captions are available in over 30 languages.
Is It All Twitter Videos That Have Captions Available?
No! It is not all the videos on Twitter that captions exist for.
How Do I Use the CC Button for Disabling/Enabling Twitter’s Auto Captions?
To use the CC button for disabling auto video captions on Twitter, simply open the Twitter mobile app on your smartphone. Within the app, navigate to any video you intend to play. Once you start playing the video, you’ll see a “CC” icon within the video frame. This icon is exactly located in the top right-hand side of the video frame. If the video is playing along with a caption, all you need to disable this caption is to click the CC icon within the video frame. With the CC icon clicked, you’ll see that the caption has stopped showing in the playing video. If you want to enable the caption (probably because you’re in a very noisy place and would like to read the video caption to understand the video), all you need is to click the CC icon again.
How Do I Get to Use Twitter’s CC Button in an Unsupported Region?
If Twitter’s CC button is not available in your country, we recommend that you integrate a trusted VPN with your Twitter mobile app in order to use the feature.
Conclusion
While Twitter’s auto-generated video captions are useful for the auditorily impaired to understand what is being said in Twitter videos, it’s crystal clear that the captions do not sit well with many Twitter users.
Finally, we hope you’ve found this post useful for overcoming auto-generated Twitter captions.
References:
How To Turn off Captions For Twitter Videos on Android and iPhones (2023)
https://livetechnoid.com/how-to-turn-off-auto-generated-captions-on-twitter/