How to Turn Off Live Caption (All Devices, 2026)

Live Caption puts text on your screen for any sound your device plays. Here is how to turn it off on each phone, computer, browser and app, and how to stop it from coming back.

By TranscribeVideo.ai Editorial TeamApril 30, 2026Updated October 17, 2026

Live Caption is a switch in accessibility settings. On most Android phones and on iPhone, open Settings → Accessibility → Live Caption (Live Captions on iPhone) and turn it off. On Windows 11, use Settings → Accessibility → Captions. In Chrome, use Settings → Accessibility.

On Android you can also drag the caption box off the bottom of the screen.
It often comes back through a shortcut: the volume controls, a triple-click, or Windows + Ctrl + L.
Android lets you hide the Live Caption icon in the volume controls.
YouTube, Netflix and TV captions are separate. Turn those off in the player or TV menu.

What is Live Caption?

Live Caption is an accessibility feature that writes out speech from audio playing on your device: videos, podcasts, calls and more. Android, Chrome, iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows 11 each have their own version. Android and Chrome call it Live Caption; Apple and Microsoft call it Live Captions. Chrome, Mac and Windows say the audio is processed on the device.

Each version has its own switch. Turning it off on your phone does not turn it off in Chrome on your computer, and none of them control the captions inside YouTube, Netflix or your TV.

How to turn off Live Caption on Android

These are Google's steps for Pixel and other Android phones. Menus on other brands can look a little different.

Method 1: From the volume controls

Press a volume button.
Under the volume controls, tap More.
Tap Live Caption to switch it off, then tap Done.

Method 2: Drag the caption box away

Drag the caption box off the bottom of the screen. Google says this hides the captions and turns Live Caption off.

Method 3: From Settings

Open Settings → Accessibility → Live Caption.
Turn Live Caption off.

On a Samsung Galaxy phone, the path is Settings → Accessibility → Hearing enhancements → Live Caption. If you can't find it on any phone, type "Live Caption" into the Settings search bar.

Stop it from coming back

On the same Live Caption settings page, Google lists an option to hide or show the Live Caption icon in volume control. Hide it, and a stray tap in the volume controls can no longer turn captions on.

Live Caption can also caption phone calls. Call captioning has its own on/off option on that settings page. Note that Live Caption turns off by itself in battery saver mode.

How to turn off Live Captions on iPhone or iPad

Open the Settings app.
Tap Accessibility, then tap Live Captions.
Turn Live Captions off.

To hide the captions window for now without turning the feature off, swipe left or right on it. Apple says the window also hides by itself when no audio is playing. Live Captions works on iPhone 11 or later and is not offered in every language or country.

In a FaceTime call: tap the screen to show the call controls, open the controls menu, then tap Stop next to Live Captions.

Subtitles that appear by themselves in videos are a different setting. Go to Settings → Accessibility → Subtitles & Captioning. Turn off Closed Captions + SDH if you don't want captions picked by default. Then tap Automatic Subtitles and turn off Show When Muted, Show on Skip Back and When Languages Don't Match (these options are in Apple's iOS 27 guide).

How to turn off Live Captions on Mac

Choose Apple menu → System Settings.
Click Accessibility in the sidebar, then click Live Captions. You may need to scroll down.
Turn Live Captions off.

To pause it instead, click the Live Captions icon in the menu bar and choose Stop Live Captions. Live Captions is only on Macs with Apple silicon.

If it keeps coming back: pressing Option-Command-F5, or pressing Touch ID three times, opens the Accessibility Shortcuts panel. If Live Captions is the only feature picked there, the shortcut turns it on or off right away. Go to System Settings → Accessibility → Shortcut and untick Live Captions. You can also check System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Accessibility for a Live Captions shortcut.

How to turn off Live Captions on Windows 11

Press Windows + U to open Settings at the Accessibility page.
Select Captions.
Turn the Live captions toggle off.

Faster: quick settings

Select the battery, network or volume icon on the taskbar to open quick settings. Open Accessibility and turn the Live captions toggle off.

The keyboard shortcut

Microsoft lists Windows + Ctrl + L as a way to start live captions. Windows + L locks your PC, so adding Ctrl by mistake is one easy way captions can appear without you meaning to. Live captions needs Windows 11, version 22H2 or later.

How to turn off Live Caption in Chrome

Chrome has its own Live Caption, separate from your computer's.

In Chrome, click More (the three dots, top right) → Settings.
Click Accessibility.
Turn Live Caption off.

On Linux, click Captions after Accessibility, then turn Live Caption off. On a Chromebook, Live Caption sits in the accessibility settings under Audio and captions.

If captions still appear on YouTube or Netflix: those come from the video site, not Chrome. See the next section.

How to turn off captions on YouTube

YouTube captions come from YouTube itself, so turning off Live Caption does not touch them.

For the video you're watching

Click or tap the Closed captions (CC) button in the player. If you don't see the button, the video has no captions.

For every video

Android app: tap your profile picture → Settings → Captions, then turn off Show captions.
iPhone and iPad app: YouTube follows your iPhone setting. Go to Settings → Accessibility → Subtitles & Captioning and turn off Closed Captions + SDH.
Computer: the CC button is the switch. If captions turn on for every video, look through your YouTube account settings for a captions option.
TV or game console: pause the video and open Captions to change them.

How to turn off live captions in Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet

Microsoft Teams

On a computer, select More actions in the meeting controls, then select Captions to turn them off. In the mobile app, choose More options → Turn off live captions.

Zoom

In a meeting, click the Hide captions icon in the toolbar (or find it under More). If captions show in every meeting, open Zoom on your computer, click your profile picture → Settings → Accessibility, and turn off Always show captions in meetings and webinars.

Google Meet

On a computer, click Turn off captions at the bottom of the meeting. On Android, tap the screen, tap More, then Hide captions. Meet captions are only shown to you, so turning them off does not change anyone else's screen.

How to turn off captions on a smart TV

TV captions are not Live Caption. They come from the broadcast or the app. These are the makers' own steps:

Samsung: Settings → General → Accessibility → Caption Settings → select Caption to turn it off. Pressing and holding Mute on the remote opens accessibility shortcuts, which include Captions.
LG (2021 and newer): press Settings → All Settings → General → Accessibility → Closed Caption → Off. On 2026 models (webOS 26), Closed Caption is under Accessibility → Hearing Features. On 2020 and older models, skip General.
Roku: Home → Settings → Accessibility (or Captions) → Captions mode → Off. "On mute" or "On replay" makes captions appear when you mute or replay.
Apple TV: Settings → Accessibility → Subtitles and Captioning, then turn off Closed Captions and SDH. Subtitles that show when you mute or skip back are under Settings → Video and Audio → Automatic Subtitles.
Other TVs: press the CC button if your remote has one, or look for Captions in the TV's Accessibility menu.

If captions still show, check the source. Netflix and other streaming apps have their own caption setting in the player. Cable and satellite boxes do too, so use that box's remote or menu.

Common reasons captions keep turning back on

The Android volume controls. Live Caption is a tap away there. Hide the icon in Settings → Accessibility → Live Caption.
The iPhone Accessibility Shortcut. A triple-click of the side or Home button turns on whatever is picked in Settings → Accessibility → Accessibility Shortcut.
The Mac shortcut. Option-Command-F5 or three presses of Touch ID. Check System Settings → Accessibility → Shortcut.
Windows + Ctrl + L on Windows 11. It starts live captions.
Automatic subtitles. iPhone, Apple TV and Roku can show subtitles when you mute or skip back. Turn those options off as shown above.
A separate switch. Chrome, FaceTime, YouTube, Instagram, meeting apps and TV apps each have their own caption setting. Turning off one does not turn off the others.

Captions vs Live Caption vs subtitles

Live Caption: made by your phone, computer or browser for any audio it plays. This article is mainly about turning these off.
Closed captions: made for one video and sent with it. You switch them with the player's CC button. More on closed captioning.
Subtitles: the words of the dialogue, often in another language, also switched in the player. More on subtitles.

If you'd rather keep the words as a file than see them on screen, TranscribeVideo.ai turns a YouTube, TikTok or Instagram link into a transcript you can download as TXT, SRT or VTT. For YouTube, the text comes from the video's own captions.

If captions are still appearing

Check the app you're using. Video, podcast and meeting apps can draw their own captions. Turn them off in that app's settings or player.
Check browser extensions. A caption or translation extension can add text to videos. Turn off any you don't need in your browser's extensions list.
Check the other device. If the TV shows captions, the cable box, game console or streaming stick may be the one adding them.

FAQ

Why does Live Caption keep turning on on my device?

Usually a shortcut turns it back on. On Android, Live Caption is one tap away in the volume controls; you can hide that icon in Settings → Accessibility → Live Caption. On iPhone, a triple-click of the side or Home button can turn it on; remove it in Settings → Accessibility → Accessibility Shortcut. On a Mac, check System Settings → Accessibility → Shortcut. On Windows 11, Windows + Ctrl + L starts live captions. If what you see are subtitles inside videos, your iPhone or Apple TV may be set to show them when the sound is muted.

Where is Live Caption in settings?

On most Android phones it is in Settings → Accessibility → Live Caption. On Samsung Galaxy phones it is in Settings → Accessibility → Hearing enhancements → Live Caption. On iPhone and iPad, go to Settings → Accessibility → Live Captions. On a Mac, go to System Settings → Accessibility → Live Captions. On Windows 11, go to Settings → Accessibility → Captions. If you can't find it, search for "Live Caption" in the Settings search bar.

How do I turn off live captions on my Android phone?

Press a volume button, tap More under the volume controls, then tap Live Caption and Done. You can also drag the caption box off the bottom of the screen, which hides the captions and turns Live Caption off. Or go to Settings → Accessibility → Live Caption and switch it off there.

How do I disable live captions on Instagram?

Instagram makes its own captions with speech recognition, so they are separate from your phone's Live Caption. For your own reels, tap More options before you share (or Options → Edit on a posted reel, then More options) and turn off Enable closed captions. For reels you watch, look for the Captions option in Instagram's settings; Instagram says this feature is only available in some places. Words the creator typed into the video are part of it and can't be turned off. If captions show up in every app, not just Instagram, turn off Live Caption in your phone's settings.