Guide
How to add captions to a pet or animal video on iPhone
Updated
To add captions to a pet or animal video on iPhone, record your narration or voiceover into the clip, open it in CaptionAddr, let it transcribe the English speech on the iPhone, fix your pet’s name and any misheard words in Edit Captions, place the captions clear of the animal and export a captioned copy to Photos. Videos up to 2 minutes are free; CaptionAddr Pro covers up to 30 minutes.
Why caption pet videos
Pet clips are some of the most shared videos in short-form feeds, and most of them autoplay with the sound off. When you narrate, explain a trick or voice what your pet is “thinking,” captions carry the joke or the story to viewers who never turn the sound on, and to viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
This guide is for pet and animal clips with spoken narration: a voiceover for your dog or cat, a training tip, a rescue or adoption story, or a day-in-the-life clip. For talking to camera yourself, see the vlog guide; for posting to Reels, the Instagram Reels guide. CaptionAddr burns the captions into the picture, so they show wherever you post.
Caption a pet video on iPhone
- Put your voice in the clip. Narrate while you film, or record your voiceover onto the clip in your camera or editing app first. Captions come from the English speech in the video, so a silent clip gets no captions.
- 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.
- 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.
- Fix names and words. Pet names, breed names and made-up words are easy to mishear. Correct them in Edit Captions, and delete words you don’t want captioned. You can edit, delete and reorder words, with undo and redo.
- 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 grass, fur or busy rooms, and drag the captions clear of your pet’s face.
- 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 pet video captions
- Speak over the quiet moments. Barking, meowing and squeaky toys can cover your words, so say your key lines when the animal is calm.
- Get close to the microphone. When you film from across a yard or room, your voice is faint; a voiceover recorded close to the iPhone captions more reliably.
- Lead with the payoff. Start the clip on the funniest or most surprising line so the first captioned words hold attention.
- Keep the animal in view. Move the captions into empty space above or below your pet instead of across it.
- 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 barking, meowing, music or sound effects, and it doesn’t read text shown on screen.
- 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, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words.
- 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
How do I add captions to a pet video on iPhone?
Narrate the clip or record a voiceover onto it, open it in CaptionAddr, generate captions on your iPhone, fix your pet’s name in Edit Captions, then choose a style and export a captioned copy to Photos.
Can I caption what my pet is “saying” without speaking?
No. CaptionAddr makes captions from speech in the video, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words. Record yourself saying the lines as a voiceover, then caption the clip.
Will it caption barking or meowing?
No. CaptionAddr captions spoken English only, not animal sounds, music or sound effects.
Why is my pet’s name spelled wrong?
Unusual names are easy to mishear. Tap the word in Edit Captions and correct it; the fix shows in the exported video.
Will there be a watermark on my video?
No watermark is required. A small CaptionAddr watermark is optional and off unless you turn it on.