Android · Accessibility
Automatic captions for any audio
Live Caption automatically generates real-time captions for videos, podcasts, voice messages, and calls playing on the device — entirely on-device, without needing an internet connection or the media having built-in subtitles.
How to open Live Caption
- Open Settings > Accessibility > Live Caption.
- Turn on the Live Caption toggle.
- Play any audio or video — a caption box appears automatically near the bottom of the screen.
- Drag the caption box to reposition it, or tap its settings icon to adjust size and filtering.
What you should know
- Works across nearly any app playing audio, not just video apps — including voice messages and games.
- Captions can be moved anywhere on screen and resized to a preferred text size.
- Live Caption can optionally caption phone calls in supported regions and devices.
- Profanity can be filtered from generated captions with a toggle.
Live Caption captions everything algorithmically on-device, so accuracy varies with audio quality and background noise, and it isn't a substitute for professionally produced subtitles.
Why it matters
Live Caption makes ordinary media instantly more accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing users, and it's also genuinely useful for anyone watching something without sound in a quiet or loud environment.
Best practices
- Enable the volume-button shortcut so captions can be toggled quickly whenever needed.
- Reposition the caption box away from important on-screen content like video controls or subtitles already provided by an app.
- Turn on caption for calls if available on your device and carrier for added accessibility during phone calls.
Common problems and fixes
- Captions don't appear for a specific app's audio.
- Confirm Live Caption is turned on and the media volume isn't muted, since Live Caption relies on the audio stream actually playing.
- Captions are noticeably inaccurate for a video.
- This is more likely with heavy background music, multiple speakers, or strong accents; there's no manual correction, but built-in app subtitles (if available) will usually be more accurate.
Tips and tricks
- Press and hold a volume button, then tap the Live Caption icon that appears, for a quick one-handed toggle without opening Settings.
Frequently asked questions
Does Live Caption require an internet connection?
No, captions are generated entirely on-device using local speech recognition, so it works even in airplane mode.
Does Live Caption work with all languages?
Language support varies by device and Android version — check Live Caption settings for the list of currently supported languages on your phone.
Related settings
- Accessibility SettingsAndroid's Accessibility settings include TalkBack screen reading, magnification, color and contrast adjustments, and Switch Access for people who use adaptive hardware.
- TalkBackTalkBack is Android's built-in screen reader, describing what's on screen out loud and letting you navigate the entire phone using gestures and audio feedback instead of relying on sight.
- Sound & VibrationSound & Vibration settings control independent volume levels for media, ringtones, notifications, and alarms, along with vibration intensity and patterns. You can also assign custom ringtones per contact and configure haptic feedback for touch and typing.
More Accessibility guides for Android
- Languages & Input / KeyboardLanguages & input settings control your device's system language, additional keyboard languages, and features like autocorrect, voice typing, and text-to-speech. You can add multiple keyboard languages and switch between them without changing your phone's overall display language.
- MagnificationMagnification lets low-vision users zoom into any part of the screen using a shortcut gesture or button, temporarily or persistently enlarging content system-wide, independent of any single app's own zoom controls.
- Select to SpeakSelect to Speak lets you tap or draw a box around text, images, or entire screens to have Android read the content aloud using text-to-speech. It works inside apps, on the web, and even on images with detectable text.
- Color Correction & InversionColor Correction shifts the device's color palette to compensate for common types of color blindness (deuteranomaly, protanomaly, tritanomaly), while the related Color Inversion setting flips light and dark values for users who prefer high-contrast or low-glare screens.
- Accessibility ShortcutThe Accessibility Shortcut lets you trigger a chosen accessibility feature, such as TalkBack, Magnification, or Select to Speak, from anywhere using a button combination, gesture, or on-screen icon, without navigating through Settings.
- Text-to-Speech OutputText-to-Speech Output controls which speech synthesis engine, language, voice, and speaking rate the system uses for every feature that reads text aloud, including TalkBack, Select to Speak, and navigation prompts.