Social Media > YouTube How to Add Subtitles to YouTube Enhance your videos with closed captioning By Scott Orgera Scott Orgera Facebook Twitter Writer Scott Orgera is a former Lifewire writer covering tech since 2007. He has 25+ years' experience as a programmer and QA leader, and holds several Microsoft certifications including MCSE, MCP+I, and MOUS. He is also A+ certified. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on April 21, 2022 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email YouTube Facebook Pinterest Twitter Snapchat Instagram YouTube Online Dating What to Know In YouTube Studio, select Subtitles. Choose a video and select the Set Language drop-down menu.To turn on subtitles, select the CC icon in the video player. If it's grayed out, subtitles are not available.To display subtitles automatically, go to Settings > Playback and performance > Always show captions. This article explains how to add subtitles to YouTube videos. You can even set subtitles to turn on automatically. How to Put Subtitles on YouTube Videos Here's how to add closed captions to the videos you upload to your YouTube channel: Open a web browser and sign in to YouTube Studio. Select Subtitles from the left menu. Select the video you want to edit. Select the Set Language drop-down menu and choose a language, then select Confirm. Find your video in the Video Subtitles list and select Add. How to Turn on Subtitles on YouTube If you're a viewer who wants to see subtitles on videos you watch on YouTube, here's how to enable this feature: Navigate to the video you wish to view. Select the CC icon, located in the lower-right corner of the video player window. If the CC button is grayed out or not visible, captions and subtitles are not available in the current video. A red line appears under the CC icon, and captions display while the video plays. Set Subtitles to Turn on Automatically You can modify your YouTube account settings so that closed captions and subtitles display automatically by default. Here's how: Select your Google Account icon, located in the upper-right corner of the screen. When the menu appears, select Settings. Select Playback and performance, located in the left menu. In the Captions section, select Always show captions and Include auto-generated captions (when available) to enable automatic captioning. Why Add Subtitles to My YouTube Videos? Adding subtitles to the YouTube videos you create could widen your audience. Subtitles allow viewers with a hearing impairment to enjoy your content via closed captioning. Subtitles are also helpful to viewers who speak foreign languages. People may also want to watch your content with the sound muted. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit