In July 2026, X (formerly Twitter) added new video editing tools to the X app, including a closed caption generator. Now, when users upload a video through the iOS or Android app, they can generate captions directly and change the color, position, and size of the captions.

So, how can you make accessible X videos, whether for your business or personal profile? In this article, we'll cover the three ways to add captions on a video posted to X:

• Added through the X app
• Uploaded as an SRT file
• None: Rely on auto closed-captions alone

X Sometimes Adds Automatic Captions

People watching videos on X - both in the app and on the website – may see closed captions on videos that appear in their feed. The captions appear near the bottom of the video with white text and a gray semi-transparent background.

On the mobile X feed, the closed captions only take up 60% width, left aligned, near the bottom of the video until the user opens the video fully in the viewer. If the viewer clicks on the video, it opens in the full-screen lightbox, and the captions expand to about 80% width.

The problems with closed captions are:

• You cannot control the spelling, spacing, or timing. It's not possible to edit the automated captions on your video, and they are generated with a cheap speech-to-text model. So, the auto-captions often include spelling and timing mistakes. No words will appear when the speaker's mouth is moving, and the previous line will show up during a silence. Brand terms and proper nouns can be confused and mis-transcribed.
• They're not always available. X does not publish clear eligibility rules for automatic video captions; its documentation says "Note: Not all videos will have captions or subtitles available" without qualification specs.

• They're not visually engaging. The lengthy lines and plain white font is less stimulating than one-word or animated subtitles that are common on other platforms.
• They can cover your video content. Because they appear generically with a gray background, they may obscure video content that is relevant. They appear in different positions on mobile and desktop.
• The user can toggle them off. Viewers can tab off these captions in the ... action menu in the video viewer or by clicking the CC icon.

According to the X help center, these captions are generated with Microsoft's technology.

Understanding X Video Accessibility

Adding captions to your videos will help make your content more accessible and inclusive to all X viewers. Captions are critical for users who are deaf or hearing impaired, so that they can enjoy videos like anyone else. When you add captions to your videos, it also allows people who keep the audio off while watching videos to consume your content. So, captions are not only helpful from an accessibility perspective; they also improve your reach to the general public.

The biggest positive impact of captioned videos on X is that expanded potential audience. Those with hearing impairments who couldn't previously watch your content can more easily understand it now. And those with ADHD or auditory processing disorders can read the captions along with your words, helping them process and understand your videos better.

Captioning your X videos is also a good way to boost your engagement. With more people watching your videos, you'll likely see an increase in retweets, replies, and likes. People will watch your videos longer instead of scrolling to the next tweet, which helps the algorithm work in your favor. Plus, 80% of people viewing videos are more likely to finish a video with subtitles on it.

From an SEO perspective, captions help LLMs and social media algorithms understand what your video is about. With the rise in video content, algorithms can accurately understand the topic of a video, which can help you rank in search results based on your video topic and get discovered on ChatGPT. This visibility will in turn boost your viewership, view time, engagement metrics such as likes, retweets, and replies.

How to Upload Captions to X with an SRT File

Although creators cannot control the spelling or timing of generated captions, they can upload an SRT file which specifies when and what should appear as someone watches their video on X. This is a great approach for brands who have complex names or hard-to-spell branded terms that often get mistranscribed.

SRT stands for SubRip Subtitle file. It’s one of the most common types of captioning files for video, and X supports SRT uploads for teams who want more control over the text of their open captions in the app. The easiest way to make an SRT file that is with an SRT File Maker. We recommend Kapwing because it automatically generates subtitles and SRT files, without you having to format anything.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating your own SRT file with Kapwing:

Step 1) Open a new project in Kapwing.

Head to our SRT File Maker tool and click Create SRT File to get started. This will take you into the Kapwing editor.

Step 2) Upload your video file.

Once inside the editor, you’ll be prompted to “Choose a video.” Click on the upload button in the main editor or in the Subtitle tab on the left to do so. You can upload your video straight from your device, import from the cloud with Google Drive and Google Photos, or paste a link to import it.

You’ll see your video file appear as a layer in the timeline below once you upload it.

Step 3) Generate automatic subtitles for your video.

In the subtitles tab on the left side of the editor, you’ll see a few different options for adding subtitles. Select the “Auto subtitles” button up top. This is the fastest way to generate subtitles for your video, which we’ll then turn into an SRT file.

Choose the language you want your subtitles in. Kapwing can translate subtitles in over 70 languages, so if you ever want to translate your video to reach a new audience, you can. Click “Auto Subtitle” once you’ve made your selection and Kapwing will start generating your subtitles.

Step 4) Make Corrections to Spelling and Timing of the SRT File

When the subtitles are ready, they will appear as a separate layer on the timeline below as well as in the subtitle tab to the left. If you were planning to add the captions directly to your video, this would be where you would edit them, customize font and style, change the placement, etc.

Scroll through the transcript view of the subtitles to make sure they’re correct. While Kapwing’s Subtitle Maker is generally very accurate, sometimes it does make mistakes. Correct spelling, punctuation, and numeric issues within the subtitles pane.

• Spelling and words: Correct any proper nouns or brand terms that were mis-transcribed and save them to your custom glossary to avoid mistakes in the future. Look for homophones that have been spelled incorrectly, like “bomb” instead of “balm,” for example. Remove stutters and add in non-spoken words like "[Laugher]" and "[Applause]."
• Timing: Tweak the start and end time of each caption, capturing the audio track more precisely.
• Length of lines: Use the Character Slider to reduce the number of characters per line.
• Speaker Labels: Use the dropdown menu to add speaker labels within the SRT file, making it easier to tell who is speaking.

Once you've made these corrections, watch the whole video through to ensure that the subtitles look correct.

Step 5) Download your SRT File.

When you’re happy with how the subtitles look, click on the download icon and select “as .SRT” as your file type. Your new SRT file will be downloaded to your device. We recommend changing the file name to something clear and recognizable, like “CampaignName_video_captions.srt” so it will be easier to find in your file browser when it’s time to upload to X.

Step 6) Upload your SRT file to the X Video

Write your tweet and attach your video. After your video has finished uploading, you’ll see the option to “Upload caption file (.srt)” just below the video.

Note: It is no longer possible to add an SRT file from the mobile X app. It must be uploaded from the X website. See X Help Center.

Click on it to open the “Upload captions” window. From here, click the “Upload captions” button. Select the .SRT file you just made.

Once your SRT file is uploaded, the “Upload captions” button will turn into a red “Remove captions” button. Click “Done” in the upper right corner to save your changes and return to the main tweet editor.

Publish or schedule your tweet as usual. Users who have captions turned on in their device’s accessibility settings will now be able to toggle the captions on and off for your video.

How to Add Permanent Subtitles to Your X Videos

If you want to add permanent subtitles to your X post that can’t be turned off, X recently added a native "Add Captions" flow which allows creators to position and style the on-screen text. Users cannot make changes to the spelling or timing of the subtitles that appear on the video.

When you upload a video, access the auto-captions by clicking the paint brush icon to edit, then the CC icon and "Generate captions" to confirm. When the captions appear on screen, drag to reposition them and change the font, colors, size, and opacity using the on-screen tools. The X editing tools also include options for Trimming, selecting or uploading the thumbnail, and adding moderation flags.

If you're making the video for multiple social media platforms or not using your phone, you can use a third party tool like Kapwing to bake in the subtitles. Kapwing’s video caption generator only requires a few more steps than creating an SRT file. First, follow Steps 1 – 3 from the previous tutorial:

1. Open a new project in Kapwing.
2. Upload your video file.
3. Generate auto subtitles.

Next, instead of downloading the SRT file, you’ll want to customize your subtitles. By selecting the subtitle layer in the timeline, you can access the edit menu to the right where you can choose the best font for your subtitles, background color, font size, and style.

When making edits to your captions, you'll want to keep accessibility guidelines in mind to ensure that people with low vision can easily read your captions. Choosing fonts that are traditionally easy-to-read, using a larger font, and having a high contrast color palette like black and white or orange and blue can be helpful to ensure that people can easily read the captions on your video.

You'll also want to ensure that the timing of the captions to what the speaker is saying is spot on. Fortunately, Kapwing's transcription timing is accurate but other tools may require more manual effort to do this.

Feel free to play around with style within those guidelines, though. Choose from different preset styles, like “Pop Art,” “Handwriting,” or “Typewriter,” or create your own with your brand fonts and colors. You can also add extra eye-catching motion for better engagement using our preset animation styles.

When you’re happy with how your permanent subtitles look, export and download your project then upload to X and anywhere else you want to share it. No captions file necessary.

Make More Accessible X Videos

Adding closed captions to your X videos will greatly benefit people who experience hearing loss of varying degrees. However, beyond accessibility, it's important to note that there's a growing population of people who simply prefer watching videos without the sound on. People enjoy watching videos while reading captions or subtitles without loud audio startling them or because they’re in a quiet place.

Whether you add an SRT file with X's CC feature or use Kapwing's subtitle generator is up to you. Adding captions to your video content will improve your social media performance, boost the number of views you get, and help more people consume your entire piece of content. If you're looking for an accessible video editor for your agency, team, or brand, check out Kapwing's subtitle software.

X Video Captions FAQs:

How do I turn on subtitles on X?

You can add subtitles to your own X videos by uploading an SRT file or by adding subtitles permanently with a video editor like Kapwing. To turn on subtitles for videos on your timeline, you’ll need to turn captions on in the accessibility settings of your phone. You will then see the CC option to toggle subtitles on or off for any X videos that have subtitles added.

Does X have subtitles?

Yes. Most X videos have auto-subtitles to make the platform more accessible. These captions, however, are not created by the author, and they can contain mistakes.

How do I turn off captions on X videos on the web?

You can turn off captions on X by expanding the video and clicking the "CC" button. The video automatically hides all captions when you expand the screen and the video audio will turn on automatically. You can also tap the three dot button in the top right corner to manually toggle captions on and off.

How do I turn off captions on X app?

You can turn off captions on the X app by expanding the video to make it full screen on your phone, which will turn on the audio automatically. You can also turn captions off in the accessibility settings of your phone.