Twitter is making it easier to utilize closed captions in the app with the addition of a new ‘CC’ button on videos where captions are available.
Video captions or no captions, it’s now easier to choose for some of you on iOS, and soon on Android.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) April 22, 2022
On videos that have captions available, we’re testing the option to turn captions off/on with a new “CC” button. pic.twitter.com/Q2Q2Wmr78U
As you can see in the above clip, you’ll soon see a new ‘CC’ option in the top right of the video player screen to switch on captions in certain clips.
The new button essentially serves a double purpose, in both enabling you to switch captions on (where possible) while also letting you know which clips actually have captions available.
Twitter’s been working to improve its accessibility options over the past year, which has also included upgrades to its alt-text description display (including a similar ‘ALT’ button on tweeted images where descriptions are available) and auto captions on video clips.
Where are video captions when you need them? They’re here now automatically on videos uploaded starting today.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) December 14, 2021
Android & iOS: auto-captions will show on muted Tweet videos; keep them on when unmuted via your device's accessibility settings
Web: use the "CC" button to turn on/off pic.twitter.com/IHJAI31IvX
Which should mean that captions are available on every clip, right? So the ‘CC’ button should be present on all videos uploaded, not just those ‘where captions are available’.
I mean, captions certainly aren’t available as an option on all clips as yet, but eventually, with the combination of auto captions and the ‘CC’ button, there’ll be more capacity to view all Twitter videos with text accompaniment, improving accessibility, and enabling more users to engage with tweets.
It’s a good addition, which will no doubt come in handy for many users.
The new CC button is first being tested on iOS before making its way to Android.
