TikTok’s user base has grown immensely over the past couple of years. With a user base of millions comes a host of different needs. TikTok recently introduced auto captions to be more accessible to their hard of hearing and deaf community. TikTok prides itself on continuously adapting to user’s needs through inclusivity. They believe “when people feel included, they’re more comfortable expressing themselves and engaging with their community.”
How to use auto captions
The new auto captions feature automatically produced subtitles so that viewers can read or listen to the audio of a post. Auto captions are accessible on the editing page when a video is uploaded or recorded. Text will automatically transcribe and display as subtitles on videos. Creators are able to edit text that is automatically generated to correct any errors.
Viewers control
Viewers have the power to turn off captions if they so chose. They can do this by opening the share panel, pressing the captions button, and switching captions off. This is another way TikTok is being inclusive to user’s wants and needs.
Status of auto captions
For now, auto captions are available in American English and Japanese. Other languages will roll out in the coming months. TikTok encourages its creators to use auto captions and features alike so they will become more accessible to a wider audience.
TikTok improving accessibility
Auto captions are part of a handful of features available on TikTok to make the platform a more inclusive and accessible place. These features focus on the visual nature of TikTok to help those with visual impairments. Features include text-to-speech, converts text to voice, and photosensitivity feature, which allows users to skip content that may be harmful to those with epilepsy.
TikTok prides itself on its commitment to making the platform accessible to all. TikTok stated they were undergoing an accessibility assessment to highlight other aspects of the platform that need improvement. They are avidly working with organizations and communities with disabilities to promote changes that positively affect the platform.
TikTok is sure to continue improving the accessibility of its platform as a whole. They will also share new updates as it is their commitment to stay transparent with their community about developments. As social platform, TikTok is consistently working to be a place for anyone and everyone to feel included.