What to Know

To turn on Live Captions on iPhone, toggle on Live Captions in your Accessibility settings.
You can use Live Captions on iPhone in many apps, including FaceTime, YouTube, and more.
Live Captions can also help you with conversations if you turn on Live Captions and use the microphone button.

Live Captions on iPhone are a helpful tool for the Deaf and hard of hearing, or anyone who wants to read captions off a screen. Here's how to add captions to videos on your iPhone for apps like FaceTime or supported video players, and how to turn off Live Captions on iPhone.

How to Turn On Live Captions on iPhone

Live Captions is a feature that lets your iPhone automatically transcribe audio in real time and puts it on screen in caption format. Here's how to turn on Live Captions on your iPhone. This will also teach you how to turn off Live Captions on iPhone: simply reverse the steps.

Open the Settings app.
Tap Accessibility.
Scroll down and tap Live Captions under Hearing.
Toggle on Live Captions. The slider will be to the right, and the bar will be green when it's on.
Tap the arrow to minimize and move the Live Captions box to the left of the screen. Tap the expand icon to make the Live Captions box fill the whole screen.

How to Turn On Live Captions in FaceTime

You have to turn on Live Captions in FaceTime individually, in app settings. To turn on Live Captions in FaceTime:

Open the Settings app and tap Apps.
Tap FaceTime.
Toggle on Live Captions.

How to Use Live Captions on iPhone

Once Live Captions are enabled, you'll see a box at the top of your screen that says "Listening..." at the bottom. This means your microphone is listening for internal sounds to caption.

If you want to stop Live Captions from listening temporarily but not fully disable the feature, tap Live Captions, then Pause Listening. X
To transcribe iPhone audio, tap Live Captions, then tap iPhone Audio.
To transcribe an in-person conversation, tap Live Captions, then tap Microphone.
To full-screen the Live Captions box, tap the Expand icon (icon with two arrows pointing out).
To minimize the Live Captions box, tap the Minimize icon (icon with two arrows pointing in).
If your Live Captions are blocking the way or a keyboard or something you want to see, just drag them to a different part of your screen, and they will stay there.
To hide the Live Captions window, swipe right or left across the window to hide it. Tap the Live Captions icon to bring it back.
To take a screenshot or screen recording of the iPhone transcription, use the usual controls.
To copy the transcription, tap the More icon (three dots in a circle), then tap Copy Captions. You can then past the transcription into another app like Messages, Notes, or Mail.
To clear the transcription, tap the More icon (three dots in a circle), then tap Clear All

Once your iPhone begins picking up Live Captions, you'll see them displayed in this box. There is currently no way to edit or scroll through them, but choosing the full-screen option allows you to see more at once before they disappear.

How to Change Live Captions' Appearance on iPhone

In your Settings app, tap Accessibility.
Scroll down and tap Live Captions under Hearing.
Tap Appearance.
From here, you can choose when to bold text, your text size, your text color, your background color, and the opacity of the background the text appears on.

Now you know how to set up and use Live Captions on your iPhone! For more ways to get the most out of your iPhone's accessibility features, check out our Tip of the Day.

FAQ

Can I add accessibility features to my Control Center? Yes, we have a step-by-step guide on how to add accessibility features to your Control Center so they're easy to find and use.
Can I customize accessibility features on an app-by-app basis? Yes, you can customize accessibility features for each app and add things like bold text, larger text, and much more!
Can I change the display settings and text size on my iPhone and iPad to make it easier to see? Yes, you can make text larger, change button shapes and on/off toggles, and more!

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