Closed captions show you the words people are saying, plus sounds that matter to the story

Closed captions are text that appears at the bottom of your screen while you watch a video or TV show. They display everything you hear: dialogue, sound effects, and music cues. If someone slams a door, the caption might say "[door slams]". If a phone rings, it says "[phone ringing]". This is different from subtitles, which only show dialogue and assume you can hear the rest.

Closed captions were originally created for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but they are useful for anyone. You might turn them on in a noisy room, at a gym, or when you are watching something in a language you are still learning. Most streaming services, broadcast TV, and video platforms now include them as a standard feature.

The word "closed" means the captions are hidden until you turn them on — they are not burned into the video itself the way some foreign-language subtitles are. You control whether you see them.

Key Takeaways

  • Closed captions include dialogue, sound effects, and music cues, so you get the full audio experience as text.
  • Most streaming services, broadcast TV channels, and video platforms have a captions button or menu option to turn them on.
  • You can usually customize the size, color, and background of captions to make them easier to read.
  • Not all videos have captions — older content and user-uploaded videos may not include them.

How to turn on captions on common platforms

Netflix: While a show or movie is playing, move your mouse to the bottom right corner. Click the speech bubble icon. Choose your language or turn captions off. Your choice saves automatically for future videos.

YouTube: Click the CC button in the bottom right corner of the video player. If captions are not available for that video, the button will be grayed out. You can also click the three-dot menu, select "Subtitles/CC", and choose a language.

Apple TV+: While playing a show, click the speech bubble icon at the bottom of the screen. Select your preferred language or turn captions off.

Disney+: Click the speech bubble icon in the bottom right corner during playback. Choose from available languages.

Broadcast TV and cable: Look for a button labeled CC or Captions on your remote control. On some older remotes, you may need to press the Menu button first, then navigate to Accessibility or Captions settings.

Customizing how captions look

Most platforms let you change the size, color, font, and background of captions so they are easier to read. On Netflix, go to your Account settings, select Accessibility, and choose Caption Appearance. On YouTube, click the gear icon during playback, then select Subtitles/CC and then Options.

You can usually make text larger, change it from white to yellow or other colors, add a dark background behind the text, or adjust the transparency so captions do not block the entire screen. These settings often save across all videos on that platform, so you only have to set them once.

If captions are too small or hard to read on your TV, check your TV's own settings as well. Some televisions have a separate Accessibility menu that controls caption size independently of what the streaming service offers.

When captions are not available

Older TV shows and movies, especially those made before the 2010s, may not have captions. Live broadcasts sometimes lack captions because they require a person to type them in real time, and not all stations have the resources to do this. User-uploaded videos on YouTube often do not have captions unless the uploader added them manually or YouTube's automatic system generated them.

If a video you want to watch does not have captions, you have a few options. YouTube can generate automatic captions for many videos — look for a CC button that says "auto-generated" underneath. These are not perfect, especially for accents or technical language, but they are better than nothing. Some platforms like Netflix are gradually adding captions to older content, so checking back in a few months may help.

The difference between captions and subtitles

Subtitles translate dialogue from one language to another, or display dialogue in the same language. They assume you can hear the audio and do not include sound effect descriptions. Captions do both: they show dialogue and describe sounds, so someone who cannot hear the audio gets the complete experience.

Some videos offer both. You might see "English [CC]" for captions and "Spanish" for subtitles. If you are watching a show in English and want to know what every sound means, choose the captions. If you are watching a show in another language and want to read it in English, choose the subtitle option for that language.

Why captions sometimes do not match what you hear

Automatic captions, especially on YouTube, can misunderstand accents, background noise, or technical terms. A speaker might say "algorithm" but the caption shows "all gore rhythm". These errors are more common in videos with poor audio quality or heavy accents. Professional captions, created by a human, are much more accurate but take time and money to produce.

Live captions on broadcast TV are typed by a stenographer in real time and may lag a few seconds behind what you see on screen. This is normal and not a problem with your TV or service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay extra to use closed captions?

No. Captions are included with your streaming service or TV subscription at no additional cost. They are a built-in feature, not an add-on.

Can I download captions to read them later?

Most streaming services do not allow you to download captions separately. However, some video platforms and educational sites do offer caption files you can save. YouTube lets you download transcripts of videos with captions, which is similar but not the same as the caption file itself.

Why does my TV say captions are on but I do not see them?

The video itself may not have captions available. Check the CC button or menu to confirm captions are actually turned on, not just enabled in your TV settings. If the button is grayed out, that video does not include captions. Also check that captions are not positioned off-screen due to your TV's picture settings — try adjusting the zoom or overscan setting.

Can I use captions on live sports or news?

Most major broadcast networks include captions on live news and some live sports events, though not all games are captioned. Check your TV's captions button during the broadcast. Cable and streaming sports services vary — some include captions, others do not.

What if the captions are in the wrong language?

Go back to the captions menu and select a different language. If only one language is available, that is the only option the video offers. On some platforms, you can report missing language options, which helps them prioritize adding more captions in the future.