Instagram is currently testing out a new ‘Auto Captions’ feature for Instagram Stories that would allow users to caption their stories through speech-to-text recognition. Matt Navarra – a social media consultant and industry commentator – posted a video showing his followers how the new feature works:
NEW! @Instagram has added a ‘Captions’ sticker for Stories
You can now auto-caption videos in stories with a range of different styles… pic.twitter.com/cijk7nWGC3
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) March 9, 2021
The new speech-to-text functionality will appear as a ‘Captions Sticker’ for Instagram Stories alongside standard stickers such as ‘Locations’ and ‘Mentions’. The ‘Captions Sticker’ is pretty straightforward: it will automatically transcribe speech from the video into written text.
Here’s the new Instagram ‘Captions’ sticker for stories pic.twitter.com/QUOJ9DTwGP
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) March 9, 2021
Auto Captions is currently available to a limited number of users – with the initial group not able to upload stories that use it to the platform. Desite this, the beta-tested feature is receiving wide praise across social media.
Auto Captions gives Instagram Stories a huge accessibility upgrade – especially for those with hearing disabilities.
Those who are not hard of hearing will also benefit: for example, if users are watching an Instagram story at work or in a crowded public place – they will be able to understand what’s being said on the video through automated text.
It could also be interesting to see if this feature could provide auto captioned Instagram stories in a different language. This would help ease communication barriers across the platform – allowing users to enjoy a wider range of content. Â
Instagram is clearly looking to improve both its accessibility and its overall user experience. We – along with a bucketload of other Instagram users – are hoping that the Auto-Captions feature will move from beta-testing to a full launch soon.