Turn On Captions on Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube

Closed captions display the spoken words of a show or movie as text at the bottom of the screen. They were originally designed for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but captions are useful for everyone. Captions help when a room is noisy, when an actor's accent is difficult to follow, or when a show's dialogue is hard to hear clearly.

Every major streaming service — Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video — includes closed captions, and turning them on takes less than a minute once you know where to look.

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Netflix

On a phone or tablet:

1. Start playing a show or movie.
2. Tap anywhere on the screen to bring up the playback controls.
3. Tap the speech bubble icon (it looks like a dialogue box) in the upper-right corner. On some devices it may be labeled "Audio & Subtitles."
4. Under the Subtitles section, tap English or English [CC].
5. Tap the X or tap anywhere outside the menu to close it. Captions now appear on screen.

On a computer (web browser):

1. Start playing a show or movie.
2. Move your mouse over the video to bring up the controls.
3. Click the speech bubble icon or the Audio & Subtitles button (usually in the lower-right area of the player).
4. Under Subtitles, click English or English [CC].

On a TV (using the Netflix app):

1. Start playing a show or movie.
2. Press the down arrow or the center button on your remote to open the playback menu.
3. Look for "Audio & Subtitles" or a subtitle/caption option.
4. Select English [CC].

Making captions larger on Netflix:

Log in to Netflix on a web browser → click your profile icon (upper-right) → Account → scroll down to Profile settings → Subtitle Appearance. You can change the font size, color, and background there. The changes apply to all Netflix devices linked to your account.

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Hulu

On a phone or tablet:

1. Start playing a show or movie.
2. Tap the screen to bring up the controls.
3. Tap the gear icon (Settings) or the speech bubble icon.
4. Tap Subtitles & Captions.
5. Select English Closed Captions or English.

On a computer:

1. Start playing a show or movie.
2. Move your mouse over the video.
3. Click the speech bubble or gear icon in the lower-right corner.
4. Click Subtitles & Captions → select English CC.

On a TV:

Use your remote's arrow buttons to navigate to the gear icon while a show is playing, then select Subtitles & Captions.

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YouTube

On a phone or tablet:

1. Start playing a video.
2. Tap the three vertical dots (or the "CC" button) in the upper-right corner of the video.
3. Tap Captions.
4. Select English or English (auto-generated).

On a computer:

1. Start playing a video.
2. Click the CC button in the lower-right corner of the video player. If you do not see it, click the gear icon (Settings) → Subtitles/CC → English.

Quick Tip: Not every YouTube video has captions. If the CC button is grayed out, the video's uploader has not added them and automatic captions are not available.

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Disney+

1. Start playing a show or movie.
2. Tap or click the screen to bring up the controls.
3. Click or tap the speech bubble icon.
4. Under Subtitles, select a language. Choose English [CC] if you want captions that also describe sound effects (recommended for hearing help).

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Amazon Prime Video

1. Start playing a show or movie.
2. Tap or click the speech bubble icon in the upper-right corner of the player. On some devices it looks like two overlapping squares.
3. Under Subtitles, select English [CC].

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Turning on captions for all content on your TV

Most smart TVs have a system-wide accessibility setting that turns on captions for every app, not just one at a time.

• Samsung TV: SettingsGeneralAccessibilityCaption Settings → turn on Captions.
• LG TV: SettingsAccessibilityClosed Captions → turn on.
• Roku: SettingsAccessibilityCaptions Mode → turn on.
• Apple TV: SettingsAccessibilitySubtitles & Captioning → turn on Closed Captions + SDH.
• Fire TV: SettingsAccessibilityClosed Captions → turn on.

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Making captions larger on your iPhone (for all apps)

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Tap Subtitles & Captioning.
4. Turn on Closed Captions + SDH.
5. Tap Style to choose a larger font size, a colored background behind the text, or a different font.

These settings apply to any app on your iPhone that supports Apple's caption system, including Apple TV+ and many others.