Google Chrome’s latest feature is a game-changer for video

Real-time captions for just about anything

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GoogleChrome can now add captions to any video in real time (or very close to it). Live Captions was originally a feature exclusive to theGoogle Pixel 4, and was later rolled out to thePixel 3andPixel 2.

That’s all set to change though, as the tool has now appeared as an experimental option inChrome Canary– a version of the browser that’s intended mainly for developers, but is also a great way to try new features before their official release.

YouTubealready has its own feature that transcribes speech in real time with pretty accurate results, but Live Captions would be a boon for other sites – and could be a game-changer if it works with video conferencing in your browser.

Speech to text

In our tests the feature didn’t seem to be quite ready yet, butsome usershave managed to activate it successfully.

To see if they’ll work for you, download and launch Chrome Canary for Windows, macOS or Linux (Live Captions aren’t yet available for mobile), then typechrome://flagsinto the address bar and use the search box at the top to look for ‘live captions’.

Click the drop-down menu and select ‘Enabled’. Relaunch the browser using the blue button that appears at the bottom right.

Go to chrome://settings/accessibility, find the switch marked ‘Live Caption’ and toggle it on. If you’re lucky, subtitles will now appear automatically whenever you visit a website containing a video with speech.

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ViaAndroid Police

Cat is TechRadar’s Homes Editor specializing in kitchen appliances and smart home technology. She’s been a tech journalist for 15 years, and is here to help you choose the right devices for your home and do more with them. When not working she’s a keen home baker, and makes a pretty mean macaron.

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