Instagram Adds Auto Captioning to Videos

On Tuesday, head of Instagram Adam Mosseri announced that auto-generated captions will be added to all videos on users' Instagram feeds (including Reels), expanding their viewing options.

Mosseri also said captions will be on by default for creators on the platform, while regular users will easily be able to switch the option on and off.

“Adding captions makes Instagram more accessible to those in the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities,” explains an Instagram post. “To start, captions are available in 17 languages (with more to come).”

This move comes in a series of previous rollouts. In 2020 Instagram launched automated captions for IGTV uploads, and then expanded the feature to Stories last year.

Mosseri acknowledged that this feature has been “a long time coming,” as various social media platforms have already made the move to auto-captioning. Sister company Facebook introduced an auto-captioning tool back in 2016, while rival TikTok rolled the feature out last April, followed by Twitter in December.

Over the past few years, muted videos with the assistance of captioning have become vastly popular among viewers of all ages, across all viewing experiences. A study conducted in November found that 75% of all consumers watch video content on mute throughout the day.

Auto-captioning will likely boost Instagram creators' viewership, as users will be more prone to click on video content in public spaces, or times when sound is not desired.

Next story loading loading..