Twitter’s Closed Caption Toggle is Now Accessible on Android and iOS

With the new Twitter's closed caption toggle, you now have the power whether you want to switch closed caption on or off on your mobile device.

The social network announced that a button to toggle captions for its video player is now accessible for iOS and Android users. This feature comes a couple of months after Twitter tested it last April.

You will find the closed caption button in the top-right corner of the video and if it has available subtitles, you can simply tap it if you want to see the written description.

Twitter Rolls Out Closed Caption Feature for Its Videos

In a tweet, Twitter made the announcement that it has already rolled out the closed caption feature.

"The choice is now yours: the closed caption toggle is now available for everyone on iOS and Android!" the social network tweeted, "Tap the "CC" button on videos with available captions to turn the captions off/on."

Given that the new feature allows you to show captions whenever you need it or want it, it's a great addition for accessibility purposes.

Previously, the CC button only appears on the web. It also appears for subtitles on mobile if your sound is turned off. When you expand a video, captions automatically disappear since doing so enables sound playback.

A few years ago, if you want to see subtitles for your videos, you even had to go to accessibility settings to switch on closed captioning.

However, "the feature does have a limitation: The button will only show up for a video if a caption has been provided for it," according to Engadget.

Back in December, Twitter introduced automatically generated captions for videos. But, according to a spokesperson who talked to The Verge, the automatically generated captions is unrelated to this new closed caption feature.

Using the website's accessibility setting page, you can see it at all times but unless you set it up, it will only show up on muted.

At the moment, there's also no way to report inaccurate automated captions.

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Users Find Closed Caption Feature Useful

The accessibility of closed caption feature have become useful to everyone in numerous ways. It is particularly useful for deaf individuals to understand most of the videos posted online. A similar feature is also available in YouTube.

Staff members of The Verge tried the feature and they were able to see the toggle on both iPhones and Android phones.

However, the feature is still a bit glitchy as there are times that captions simply wouldn't appear. The staff also experienced a frozen video when the button was pressed occasionally.

The Verge is hopeful that with the availability of the toggle, it will "encourage anyone uploading a video to Twitter to consider adding captions."

Just recently, Twitter is also testing its own version of "Notes." Currently, it is available for a smaller number of users only.

According to the company, people in most countries can read a "Note." However, since it is still in the testing stage, only a select few can actually write one.

With the new feature that it is currently testing, writers can share their notes in what looks like articles. Once you click it, you will be brought to a long-form reader in the Twitter UI.

Related Article: New Twitter Feature Teased: How to Write 'Full Articles'