Introducing Auto Captions: Enhancing Accessibility on TikTok

Introducing Auto Captions: Enhancing Accessibility on TikTok\n\nAt TikTok, we believe in inclusivity and self-expression within our community. That's why we are dedicated to creating an inclusive app environment by developing products and tools that support our diverse user base.\n\nTo enhance accessibility, we are introducing a new feature called auto captions. Auto captions generate subtitles for videos, enabling individuals who are hard of hearing or deaf to enjoy and engage with TikTok content. Creators can choose to enable auto captions during the editing process, and the feature transcribes the audio and displays the text on their videos. The generated captions can be edited by creators to ensure accuracy.\n\nAuto captions are an integral part of the video content and can be disabled by viewers if preferred. Simply access the share panel, tap the captions button, and select the "off" option.\n\nInitially, auto captions will be available in American English and Japanese, with plans to expand language support in the future. We are actively collaborating with our community to promote the use of auto captions and other accessibility features that enhance content accessibility.\n\nAuto captions is just one of the many accessibility features we have developed to make TikTok more inclusive. We have also implemented improvements for individuals with visual impairments, such as replacing animated thumbnails with static images, providing warnings for videos with effects that may trigger photosensitive epilepsy, offering a photosensitivity feature to skip potentially harmful content, and introducing a text-to-speech feature that converts text into voice.\n\nOur goal at TikTok is to ensure accessibility for all users, and we are committed to long-term efforts in this regard. We are currently conducting an accessibility assessment to identify areas for further improvement. Additionally, we are actively engaging with organizations and communities with disabilities on TikTok to amplify their voices and implement changes that better serve everyone. Through partnerships with organizations like The Deaf Collective, we aim to raise awareness about the diversity, talent, and conversations within Deaf communities.\n\nAs we continue to advance our accessibility initiatives, we will keep our community informed about the progress made. TikTok is a platform for everyone, and we are dedicated to better serving the needs of our entire community.