How To Add Auto-Captions In Instagram Stories

Last year, Instagram introduced closed captions for IGTV. Every time a user uploads an IGTV video, he or she will be able to toggle on ‘Auto-Generated Captions’ in the caption settings. 

The Social Media platform now has a caption sticker for Stories, which can automatically transcribe speech in videos. Not only are people who are deaf or hard of hearing now able to more easily access previously audio-focused content, but it’s also useful for people who want to find out what’s said in a Story video without having to turn up the volume.

As of 8 a.m. PT on May 4, when Instagram rolled out this new feature, only users in English-speaking countries will be able to add closed captioning to their Stories by simply tapping a new sticker. 

Elite’s Daily in its report said that the Stories Sticker, which is called “Caption,” automatically transcribes whatever audio is in the video and then lets you customize and change the font of your captions as well as its style, color, and position. 

“When you add captions to Instagram Stories, people will be able to read exactly what you’re saying without needing the sound on, so they won’t have to tap past your Story if they’re in a situation where “volume up” is not the vibe. While the feature is only available in English for now, Instagram plans to expand it to other languages and non-English speaking countries in the future”, 

1. To try this new feature, you will need to first of all update your Instagram app to its latest version 185.0. 

2. Next, open your Instagram app and head to your Story camera to either take a Story video with something to transcribe or upload one. 

3. Tap the stickers button in the top right corner and you will see a blue Caption sticker in your stickers queue.

4. After that, click the Captions sticker, a message that reads “transcribing audio” will show.  You will have the option to customise the font and color of your text before posting the video to your Story. 

Like in the test version of captions in Stories, which rolled out in the month of March, you will also be able to edit the auto-generated captions before posting to your Story. What this means is, you can make corrections to any typos or apply changes to the captions for clarity if you want to. 

The launch of auto captions in Instagram Stories is bound to be a game-changer for so many situations when you can’t watch Stories with the sound on. Plus, it’s a welcome addition for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, making videos that were previously audio-focused more accessible with captions.

The tech giant will also start testing out an auto captions feature in Reels very soon. Instagram’s new auto captions feature isn’t widely available for Reels just yet, but users should keep an eye out for a test version that’ll be making its way to the app sometime in the near future.