Instagram adds auto-generated captions to videos

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(Pocket-lint) – Instagram is adding auto-generated captions for videos, making the feed more accessible to users who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Announcing the new feature on Twitter the company notes that content creators will no longer need to manually add captions to the videos themselves, with auto-generated scripts having to be run in 17 languages.

More will come in the near future, Instagram says, but English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian and Arabic are among the first rollouts.

Naturally, aside from being a long-awaited feature for those who need help watching videos, the new addition is also handy for those who just need to watch a video without sound. And, as always, users will have the option to enable or disable auto-generated captions through the app’s advanced settings.

Interestingly, the head of the company, Adam Mosseri, described this move as “long in coming”, although it lags behind competitor TikTok, which launched auto-generated captions in April 2021.

It also comes as Instagram continually emphasizes improving Reels, its direct rival TikTok, with features like Remix (similar to TikTok Duets) and Reels Visual Replies, both of which arrived last year.

This latest move also comes a day after support for the standalone IGTV app ended, with Instagram stressing that it will continue to simplify video in the main app – a natural move, given that Reels is the biggest. company’s contributor to engagement growth.

Overall, auto-generated captions are a small but significant addition, as it’s one that continues to blur the lines between TikTok and Reels and make them ever-improving platforms.

However, as we saw early in the back and forth between Snapchat and Instagram Stories, a winner will almost certainly emerge over the next two years in the short-form video realm.

Written by Conor Allison.