Apart from liking aesthetic photos on Instagram, you can also watch videos on the platform. And Instagram made a bold move to focus its efforts on video content rather than photos as it used to. Therefore, watching videos on the platforms may become the main thing you do on Instagram.
Videos with sounds are best enjoyed. Unfortunately, some situations prevent you from turning up the volume. For example, you may enjoy your vacation from work where others are still working. Or it might be night time, and you don’t want to wake your roommates.
Also, not all Instagram users have perfect hearing. Some are deaf or members of hard-of-hearing communities. Therefore, they may not hear or have difficulty hearing the sounds in a video.
Fortunately, Instagram launched Ease of Access in March 2022. And launch auto-generated captions on videos in your feed. Adam Mosseri, the company’s president, admitted it was about time. And while they won’t admit it, this is another step to keep up with TikTok. Instagram is trying to dethrone TikTok as the king of short video platforms with Reels. TikTok has had this feature since last year.
Prior to this update, Instagram creators had to add captions themselves. This is a time consuming task. With this feature, the process is simplified. It also makes Instagram friendlier towards the deaf and hard of hearing.
As of this writing, auto-generated captions are available in seventeen languages. It includes:
- English
- Spanish
- Portuguese
- French
- thai
- Arab
- Vietnamese
- Italian
- German
- Turkish language
- Russian
- Tagalog
- urdu
- Malay language
- indonesian
- Japanese
Instagram says it plans to add support for more languages in the future. Also, the feature isn’t perfect yet, as the AI is still learning. But as more people use the feature, the quality of the auto-generated captions should improve.
So, how do you use this feature? Here is a guide for that.
How to turn on/off auto generated captions
You may be confused, and you are asking why you don’t have this feature. I’ve watched many videos since March, and none of them have auto-generated captions. Most likely, you also have access to this feature, but you haven’t activated it yet. Yes, by default, auto-generated captions are turned off. But do not worry. Operating this feature is very easy.
First, launch the Instagram app on your smartphone and log into your account if you haven’t done so yet. You can see your profile picture in the lower right corner of your screen. Click on that to go to your profile page.
Next, tap on the hamburger button in the upper right corner of the screen. Select “Settings”. Choose “Account” and then “Captions.” Switch it up.
And there you are. The video posts you watch on your Instagram feed will display auto-generated captions.
You can follow the exact same steps to turn off the feature.
How to turn on auto-generated captions for a specific video
Auto-generated captions are great when you need them. But when it’s not necessary, turning on the feature can get frustrating. Text can obscure the view. Fortunately, Instagram allows you to use auto-generated captions for a single video.
Here’s what to do if you don’t want auto-generated captions on every video you see on Instagram.
Open the video you want to watch. Click on the kebab menu in the upper right corner of the video – opposite the creator’s username. You will see the option to “Manage Captions” if the video supports captions. Click on that.
Turn on Captions. Below this part, Instagram will tell you what language your caption will be in. You can’t change what’s out there. Instagram says it depends on the language you set for your device.
Click anywhere on the screen to remove the settings from view. And there you are. You have successfully turned on the captions for this particular video and nothing else.
How to post videos with captions
Auto-generated captions make things a lot easier for accessibility-conscious creators. Now, adding captions to videos is no longer a do-it-yourself project. They simply have to turn the feature on.
Here’s what you need to do to add auto-generated captions to your videos.
Start by writing an Instagram post as you normally would. Click on the “+” icon at the top right of the screen. Then select “Publish”. Upload a video from your gallery or record a video with Instagram’s native camera tool. Don’t forget to speak in the video because the auto-generated captions use speech recognition technology.
Apply some modifications if you want. When finished, click “Next”. Then choose “Advanced Settings”.
Find the Accessibility section on the Advanced settings page. Switch to the “Show captions” options. This will effectively add auto-generated captions to your post. Go ahead and post your video.
You can add or remove captions later if you forgot to turn on/off the setting before posting the video. Click on the kebab menu at the top right of the video to access the advanced settings.
How to add auto-generated captions to reels and stories
You can also add auto-generated captions to Reels and Stories via Caption Labels. Start by clicking on the “+” button in the upper right corner of the screen. Select “Story” or “Reel,” depending on what you want to do.
Select a video from your gallery or record a new video using the Instagram app’s camera. Again, don’t forget to speak up. While editing the video, tap the sticker icon. Then look for the label that says “Captions”. Put that in your video. This will add auto-generated captions to your file or story.
Unfortunately, this feature is not yet available in all countries. Only people from English speaking countries can access it.
useful feature
This concludes our guide. Auto-generated captions make your videos more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing. Adding them also allows people who are unable to play sounds due to various circumstances to enjoy your videos. Therefore, it is highly recommended to add auto-generated captions to your videos.
Why you should try to enable auto caption feature in Instagram
There are several reasons why you might want to enable the automatic captions feature on Instagram:
- Make your content more accessible: Automatic captions can help make your content accessible to a wider audience, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, those who speak different languages, and those who may have difficulty understanding spoken content. By enabling automatic captions, you can help ensure that your content is accessible to everyone.
- To improve user experience: Automatic captions can also improve your followers’ overall experience. They can help people better understand your content and follow your videos, which can lead to a more engaging and enjoyable viewing experience.
- Reach a wider audience: By making your content more accessible and improving the user experience, you can reach a wider audience on Instagram. This can help you increase your followers and increase the reach of your content.
- To comply with accessibility laws: Finally, enabling automatic captions can also help you comply with accessibility laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Many companies and organizations must make their content accessible to people with disabilities, and automatic captions can help you meet this requirement.
Generally speaking, there are several reasons why you might want to enable the automatic captions feature in Instagram. By making your content easier to access, improving user experience, reaching a wider audience, and complying with accessibility laws, you are likely to benefit from using this feature.
date: December 23, 2022 / Categories: advice, / Author: Drees rich
