How to add captions to a news recap or explainer video on iPhone

Why caption explainer videos

News recaps, explainers and “here’s what happened” clips are often watched in feeds with the sound off. Captions let viewers follow your explanation without sound, and they help viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing. Because viewers read the facts you state, the captions need to be as accurate as what you say.

This guide is for clips where you explain a topic yourself: to the camera, in front of an image or screenshot, or as a voiceover over your own footage. For clips where you talk over another video, see the reaction guide; for longer conversations, the podcast clip guide. CaptionAddr burns the captions into the picture, so they show wherever you post.

Caption an explainer video on iPhone

1. Record clearly. Practice tricky names before you record, speak at a steady pace and keep any music well below your voice. Captions come from your speech, so a clear voice gives the most accurate words.
2. Choose the video. Tap Select Video in CaptionAddr and pick the clip with Apple’s Photos picker. Vertical, square and landscape videos all work, and the video keeps its shape.
3. Let the captions generate. Captions start as soon as the video opens; keep the app open; the English speech is transcribed on your iPhone, not on a server.
4. Check names, numbers and dates. Names, figures, dates and abbreviations are the words most likely to come out wrong, and one wrong number changes the story. Correct them in Edit Captions. You can edit, delete and reorder words, with undo and redo.
5. Style and place the captions. Choose one of the 20 fonts and a size that reads on a phone, turn on the tinted background over screenshots and headlines, and drag the captions where they don’t cover the image or text you’re explaining.
6. Export and post. Tap Export Video to save the captioned copy to Photos, then upload it to TikTok, Reels, Shorts or any other app. The watermark is off unless you turn it on.

Tips for explainer captions

• Lead with the point. Start on the key fact, so the first captioned words tell viewers why to keep watching.
• Check how numbers read. Look at each figure in Edit Captions and edit it so it reads clearly at a glance.
• Keep one topic per clip. A short clip on one story is easier to follow and easier to check before you post.
• Move captions away from the source. If you stand in front of a screenshot or headline, place the captions on the other side of the frame.
• Keep your original. CaptionAddr exports a new copy and leaves the original clip in your library.

Limits

• Speech only. CaptionAddr captions spoken English. It doesn’t caption music or sound effects, and it doesn’t read text shown on screen, such as headlines or screenshots.
• No fact-checking or text overlays. The app writes down what it hears. It doesn’t check facts, add source labels or add headlines, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words.
• English only. CaptionAddr transcribes English speech and doesn’t translate.
• Single-word captions. Words appear one at a time, timed automatically, always in uppercase; there are no speaker labels, full-sentence layouts or manual per-word timing.
• No audio changes. The app doesn’t remove background noise or change the audio; deleting a word removes it from the captions only.
• Length. Free covers videos up to 2 minutes; CaptionAddr Pro covers up to 30 minutes. The App Store shows the current Pro price in your currency.
• Burned-in captions only. There is no SRT, VTT or text export, and the app doesn’t post to social platforms.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• How to add captions to a reaction or commentary video on iPhone
• How to add captions to a podcast clip on iPhone
• Captions for YouTube Shorts
• How to add captions to a money tips or personal finance video on iPhone

All caption guides →