How to Easily Enable Closed Captions in Zoom
Zoom, the popular video conferencing platform, offers a built-in closed captions feature. However, it is somewhat hidden in the settings and has limited functionality. Unlike other services, Zoom requires you to manually write the captions for others to read. Thankfully, there is a solution in the form of a third-party Zoom app that automatically generates captions as people speak. Let's dive in and learn how to turn on closed captions in Zoom for free.
Enabling Closed Captions in Zoom's Free Plan
To generate captions automatically in Zoom, you first need to enable the built-in captions feature and allow the use of the caption API token. Here's how:
Enabling the Closed Captions Feature on Zoom
- Open the Zoom website and log in if you haven't already.
- Click on the Settings option in the left sidebar, then select Meeting followed by In Meeting(Advanced).
- Scroll down and enable Closed captioning. Also, enable the checkmark beside Allow use of caption API Token to integrate with 3rd-party Closed Captioning services. This will connect Zoom with third-party services for captioning via API.
Connecting Web Captioner to Zoom
Enabling the captions feature in Zoom is not enough. You either need to write the captions yourself or use an app that utilizes speech-to-text technology. Here's how to connect Web Captioner to Zoom:
- Open the Zoom app and start a meeting on either the mobile or web app.
- Look for the Closed Captions option and click on it.
- You'll find options to either type yourself or assign a participant to type the captions. Click on Copy the API token to copy the Zoom captioning API token, which grants necessary access to the third-party app.
- Once you've enabled the built-in Zoom Captions feature, go to Web Captioner and click on the Start Captioning button.
- Click on the profile icon at the bottom right corner and select Settings.
- In the left sidebar, select Channels and then click on the Zoom logo.
- Paste the Zoom API token you copied earlier and select Send Captions as soon as possible in the update frequency section. Finally, click on Add Channel.
Using Captions From Web Captioner on Zoom
Now that we've connected Web Captioner to Zoom, here's how you can use captions during your meetings:
- Start a new Zoom meeting and click on the Closed Captions option, then select I will type.
- A pop-up window for manual typing will appear. Close it, as we won't be relying on human intervention.
- Hover over the Closed Caption option and click on the up arrow, then select Show Subtitle.
- Switch to the Web Captioner page and click on Start Captioning.
- The app will listen to your conversation and automatically generate captions.
- These captions will be displayed on your Zoom meeting screen as well.
- To change the font size of the captions directly from Zoom, hover over Closed Captions, click on the arrow, and select Subtitle Settings.
Please note that all participants in the meeting will see the generated captions on their screens if they have enabled Closed Captions in Zoom. However, if you are using headphones, Web Captioner won't be able to listen to your Zoom meeting audio. In such cases, all participants need to connect Web Captioner to Zoom individually to receive their captions.
While this process needs to be repeated for each meeting, it's a small price to pay for the convenience of Zoom captions. Web Captioner is a free service that relies on donations, so consider supporting them if you find it useful.
However, keep in mind that using third-party captioning sites may raise privacy and security concerns, especially for private or sensitive meetings. If confidentiality is crucial, we recommend either manually writing the captions yourself or assigning a trusted individual, such as a secretary, to do it for you.
Remember, with closed captions enabled, your Zoom meetings become more inclusive, ensuring everyone can participate and understand the discussion.
Also Read:
- 3 Best Ways to Add Zoom Meetings to Google Calendar Quickly
- 10 Best Zoom Apps to Spruce up Video Calling Experience

Jim's passion for Apple products ignited in 2007 when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone. This was a canon event in his life. Noticing a lack of iPad-focused content that is easy to understand even for “tech-noob”, he decided to create Tabletmonkeys in 2011.
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