How To Turn On Live Caption on your Android

Turning on Live Caption is pretty straightforward. All the user has to do is press either of the volume buttons and select the icon below the on-screen volume control. It looks like a text box with a slash across it. Once turned on, the phone will transcribe audio from a video, podcast, call or voice note on the screen. Users can drag the caption box across the screen with a “tap and hold” and then move it to a preferred position.

The caption box can also be expanded by double-tapping on it. To deactivate Live Caption, users have to simply drag down the box to the bottom of the screen. Another option is to press any of the volume buttons and tap on the Live Caption icon.

Live Caption has its own settings that allow users to customize the experience. To modify these settings, go to the phone’s main Settings app, select ‘Sound’ (‘Sounds & Vibration’ on some devices), and scroll down to ‘Live Caption.’ The Live Caption settings include turning on or turning off profanity, which can be handy when a child uses the device.

There is also a toggle for ‘Sound Labels,’ which uses labels to inform the user of sounds like laughter, applause and music which can’t be transcribed. Users can also toggle a switch that prevents the Live Caption icon from being visible in volume control.

The Live Caption settings don’t end there. Google also allows users to modify the transcribed text’s size and colors, but these settings are under a different menu. To access this menu, open the Settings app, go to ‘System,’ and select ‘Accessibility.’ Scroll down to ‘Caption preferences’ and open ‘Caption size and style.’ Users can change the size of the text here and choose or customize the caption style that bests suits them.