iPhone (iOS) · Accessibility
Customize Closed Caption Style and Availability
Captions & Subtitles controls whether closed captions appear by default during video playback and lets you customize their font, size, color, opacity, and background style.
How to open Captions & Subtitles
- Open Settings → Accessibility → Subtitles & Captioning
- Toggle Closed Captions + SDH
- Tap Style to choose a preset or create a new style
- Adjust font, size, color, and background in the custom editor
- Play a video to confirm captions display as expected
What you should know
- Toggle for automatically preferring closed captions and SDH when available
- Style presets plus a fully custom editor for font, size, color, and edge style
- Applies system-wide across apps that support standard iOS caption rendering
- Separate from Live Captions, which generates real-time captions for audio and calls
Why it matters
Captions and subtitles are essential for Deaf and hard-of-hearing users, but they're also widely used by hearing viewers watching in noisy environments, learning a new language, or wanting to follow dialogue more precisely. Having consistent styling that's readable against any background reduces eye strain and improves comprehension, especially for users with low vision. Because the setting applies system-wide, it saves people from having to re-enable captions in every individual app.
Best practices
- Choose a high-contrast style (like white text with a black outline) for readability on any video background
- Enable auto-prefer captions if you frequently watch with the sound off
- Increase caption size for small-screen viewing or low-vision needs
- Test styling on both light and dark video content before finalizing
Common problems and fixes
- Captions don't appear in a specific app
- Confirm the app supports standard iOS captions and that the content itself includes a caption track
- Custom caption style looks inconsistent across apps
- Some apps use their own in-app caption renderer instead of the system style, which can't be overridden
- Captions are hard to read on bright scenes
- Increase background opacity or switch to a bold outlined style
Tips and tricks
- Use SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) tracks when available for sound-effect descriptions
- Pair with Sound Recognition for a fuller picture of both speech and ambient sound
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as Live Captions?
No, Captions & Subtitles governs pre-existing caption tracks in video, while Live Captions generates real-time captions from live audio.
Will captions turn on automatically for all videos?
Only if 'Prefer Closed Captions and SDH' is enabled and the content includes a caption track.
Can I create multiple caption styles?
You can save one custom style at a time, choosing from presets or fully customizing it.
Related settings
- Accessibility SettingsAccessibility settings on iPhone include VoiceOver screen reading, Zoom magnification, Voice Control, and many vision, hearing, mobility, and cognitive features.
- Display & BrightnessDisplay & Brightness settings control screen brightness, True Tone, Dark Mode, text size, and Night Shift for warmer colors in the evening.
- Sound RecognitionSound Recognition uses on-device listening to identify sounds like alarms, doorbells, sirens, car horns, or a crying baby, and sends a notification when one is detected nearby.
More Accessibility guides for iPhone (iOS)
- Language & RegionLanguage & Region controls which language iOS displays system-wide, plus region-specific formatting for calendars, number separators, measurement units, and temperature — separate settings that don't have to match each other.
- VoiceOverVoiceOver is iOS's gesture-based screen reader that describes aloud everything on screen — text, buttons, images — letting blind and low-vision users navigate the entire iPhone by touch and sound instead of sight.
- MagnifierMagnifier uses the iPhone's camera to magnify nearby text, objects, or your surroundings in real time, with added tools like Detection Mode for identifying people, doors, and objects for users with low vision.
- Voice ControlVoice Control lets you navigate and operate nearly all of iOS — opening apps, tapping buttons, dictating text, scrolling — entirely by speaking commands, built for users who can't or prefer not to use touch input.
- Switch ControlSwitch Control lets people operate iPhone using one or more adaptive switches, the screen, or a camera instead of direct touch, scanning through items on screen until the desired one is selected.
- AssistiveTouchAssistiveTouch places a customizable floating button on screen that opens a menu for performing gestures, hardware button actions, and multitasking without needing to touch the physical buttons or use multi-finger gestures.