How to add captions to a Q&A or reply-to-comment video on iPhone

Why caption Q&A and reply videos

Q&A and reply videos, such as answering a viewer’s question, responding to a comment on your last post or working through a batch of questions from your followers, only make sense when viewers know the question and the answer. Many watch with the sound off, so captions carry your answer, and they help viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing follow along.

This guide is for videos where you answer questions or comments to the camera. For responding to another video, see the reaction video guide; for answering listener questions in a recorded conversation, the podcast clip guide. CaptionAddr burns the captions into the picture, so they show wherever you post.

Caption a Q&A video on iPhone

1. Read the question out loud. Start each answer by reading the question or comment, then reply. Captions come from your speech, so a comment shown on screen isn’t captioned unless you say it.
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. Fix names and misheard words. Product names, slang and words from the question are easy to mishear. Correct them in Edit Captions. You can edit, delete and reorder words, with undo and redo.
5. Keep the comment in view. Choose one of the 20 fonts and a size that reads on a phone, turn on the tinted background over a busy room, and drag the captions where they don’t cover your face or the comment you’re replying to.
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 Q&A captions

• Answer one question at a time. Read a question, answer it, then move to the next, so the captions show a clear question and answer.
• Skip usernames. Say “someone asked” rather than reading out a username. Usernames are easy to mishear, and deleting one in Edit Captions leaves it in the audio.
• Leave room for the comment. If you add a comment on screen when you post, keep it in the top half of the frame and drag the captions lower.
• Delete stray words. Remove words picked up from a television, another person or another room in Edit Captions.
• 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 read comments, questions or other text shown on screen.
• Captions only. The app doesn’t add question cards, comment bubbles or titles, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words.
• Every voice is captioned. If a friend asks the questions on camera, their words become captions too, with no speaker labels to tell you apart.
• 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 is no full-sentence layout or manual per-word timing.
• Length. Free covers videos up to 2 minutes; CaptionAddr Pro covers up to 30 minutes, enough for a longer batch of questions. 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
• How to add captions to Instagram Reels

All caption guides →