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TikTok captions that show up

TikTok's auto captions are a separate caption track, not part of your video. They only appear on eligible videos with speech in a supported language, and every viewer can hide them. If your captions have to be seen by everyone, burn them into the video before you upload it.

Updated 28 October 2026

Why TikTok captions don't show

  • They were never made: depending on your app version, TikTok creates captions for eligible videos on its own, or only when you switch on Captions on the editing screen before posting.
  • The video isn't eligible: captions need clear speech in a language TikTok supports. A clip that is mostly music gets none.
  • The viewer hid them: anyone can hide captions on a video, and TikTok's accessibility settings decide whether auto-generated captions show by default. You may be looking at your own setting.
  • The app is out of date: an old version can leave the Captions button out of the editor.

Fix it in TikTok

  • Update TikTok, start a new post and look for Captions on the editing screen. Turn it on and read the text before you post.
  • If TikTok asks for the video's language, choose the one you speak most in the clip.
  • If captions never appear on your phone, open Settings and privacy, then Accessibility, and check the captions setting.
  • Remember that viewers decide for themselves. Captions you can see may still be off for someone else.

Burned-in captions every viewer sees

TikTok's caption track can be hidden, but text in the picture can't. That is why so many creators caption in an editor before uploading: the captions look the same for everyone, and you choose the font, colour and animation.

  1. Open the Cuecaps studio and add the finished video, sound included.
  2. Click Find words, check that Language matches the speech, and transcribe on this device or in the cloud.
  3. Fix any wrong word, then keep the captions above the bottom quarter and away from the buttons on the right.
  4. Export Video (MP4) and post that file with TikTok's own Captions left off, so viewers don't get two sets of text.

The free safe zone checker draws TikTok's own buttons and text over a frame of your video, so you can see what they would cover before posting. Signing up is only needed to export, and free exports include a small Made with cuecaps.com mark.

Rounded Nunito in capitals with a dark outline and a solid drop shadow. A green box marks the spoken word.
Use Rounded on your video
Bold Montserrat in capitals with a black outline, up to three words at a time. The spoken word turns yellow and each caption pops in.
Use Bold on your video
Glow Bricolage Grotesque with a cyan glow, one word at a time, coming into focus from a blur.
Use Glow on your video

Some previews use a frame from Sprite Fright by Blender Studio, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Questions

Why do my TikTok captions show for me but not for others?

Each viewer chooses whether to see captions, so someone with them off never sees TikTok's captions. Burned-in captions are the only kind every viewer gets.

Can I add captions to a TikTok I already posted?

Not as burned-in text on the same post. Caption the video, export it and post it again. What TikTok lets you change on a posted video depends on your app version.

Why are my TikTok captions in the wrong language?

TikTok detects or asks for one language per video, and mixed speech follows only one of them. In Cuecaps you set Language yourself before transcribing, and every word stays editable.

Should I use TikTok captions and burned-in captions together?

Usually not, because viewers who have TikTok captions on see two lines of text. Pick one; burned-in captions look the same for everyone.

Try it on your video

You can also drop a file anywhere on this page. Or tryTry the demo clip

Fix it in Cuecaps