YouTube Announces New Audio Features for Accessibility

YouTube Enhances Accessibility with New Audio Features

On Thursday, YouTube unveiled a series of new audio capabilities. Some of these enhancements are already available, while others are scheduled for release in the approaching months.

Expanded Live Auto-Captioning

Currently, content creators can now activate live, automatically generated captions for all English-language livestreams. This functionality, previously restricted to channels exceeding 1,000 subscribers, is now universally accessible.

YouTube intends to broaden the availability of live auto-captions to encompass all 13 languages currently supported for captioning in the near future.

Supported Captioning Languages

Dutch
English
French
German
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Turkish
Vietnamese

Multi-Language Audio Tracks in Development

The platform is presently evaluating the inclusion of multiple audio tracks within videos. This will facilitate the provision of multi-language audio options for a global viewership, as well as descriptive audio for individuals with visual impairments.

This feature is currently being tested with a limited number of creators, with plans for a wider release across subsequent quarters.

Auto-Translation and Transcript Search

Later this year, YouTube will introduce auto-translation for captions across supported languages on both Android and iOS devices. Currently, this feature is exclusive to the desktop version of the platform.

Furthermore, users will soon have the ability to search through video transcripts on Android and iOS. Testing for keyword searches within mobile transcripts is planned for later in the year.

Delegated Caption Creation

New channel permissions are being developed within YouTube Studio. These will empower creators to assign caption and subtitle creation responsibilities to trusted individuals.

Initially announced as “Subtitle Editor,” the rollout of this feature has experienced delays. YouTube assures creators that development is ongoing and updates will be provided.

Commitment to Accessibility

“Improving accessibility is a top priority for YouTube, and we hope these updates will help creators reach a wider audience,” the company communicated in an official blog post.

Evolution of Auto-Captions

YouTube initially launched auto-captions in 2010 and has consistently refined and expanded their availability since then. Auto-captions were integrated into YouTube Live in 2018.

YouTube joins a growing number of platforms prioritizing enhanced captioning features to foster inclusivity and accessibility. TikTok recently added auto-captions, and Instagram introduced a captions option for Stories earlier this year.