Instagram is releasing a new feature for its Stories which is called Captions. The feature is currently available only for the Stories functionality while the company has confirmed it will make its way to Reels as well in the near future.
Instagram took to Twitter to announce the Captions feature through which users will now be able to better understand what a person is saying in his/her stories even when the sound is off. The feature already made its way to IGTV videos last year while other functionalities inside the App are now getting access to it.
The new Captions feature for Instagram Stories has already started to roll out in a handful of countries and the company ‘hopes to expand soon’ in all markets. In an official statement, Instagram told CNET, “You may not always be somewhere where you want your sound on, yet you still want to see what your friends and creators are posting. With captions, people can now express themselves in a more effortless yet still meaningful way, and their audience can watch and still engage”.
Sound off
…with sound offNow you can add a captions sticker in Stories (coming soon to Reels) that automatically turns what you say into text.
We’re starting in a handful of countries and hope to expand soon. pic.twitter.com/OAJjmFcx4R
— Instagram (@instagram) May 4, 2021
Captions can be used on a video which the user records at that point of time via the Instagram app or even a pre-recorded video from the gallery. Once you have recorded the video via Instagram Stories or have selected it through the gallery, you can swipe up to reveal various stickers where you will find the Captions option as well.
After you click on it, the captions will automatically show up in your video as Instagram will convert the speech inside the video to text so users can read what you are saying when the sound on their phone is off.
You can also further customise the captions by changing its style, font colour, and text. You can also move the captions around in the video to place it per your liking.