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How-to guide

How to add captions to a video on iPhone

Add animated captions to any iPhone video right from your Camera Roll — in the browser, with no App Store download and no manual typing.

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Quick answer

To add captions to a video on iPhone, open AnimateCaptions in Safari or Chrome — there is no app to download — and upload your clip straight from the Camera Roll. It auto-transcribes the audio (iPhone .mov files are supported), then you pick an animated caption style, position it, and export a captioned MP4 to save back to Photos. The whole process runs in your browser and takes about a minute for a short clip.

Step by step

How to caption an iPhone video in 5 steps.

From your Camera Roll to a captioned MP4 — all in the browser.

  1. 01

    Open AnimateCaptions in Safari or Chrome

    There is nothing to install from the App Store. Just open animatecaptions.com in Safari or Chrome on your iPhone — the whole tool runs in the browser.

  2. 02

    Upload from your Camera Roll

    Tap upload and choose a clip from your Photos. iPhone records in .mov and that format is fully supported, along with .mp4. Free clips can be up to 2 minutes and 500 MB; even 4K is accepted and downscales on export.

  3. 03

    Let it auto-transcribe

    The audio is transcribed automatically with Deepgram Nova-3 and auto-detects 36+ languages, so your spoken words become timed captions with no typing.

  4. 04

    Pick a style, then edit and position

    Choose from 32+ animated caption styles. Tap any word to fix a typo, drag captions to reposition them, and adjust font, colour, and size. The preview matches your final video exactly.

  5. 05

    Export and save to Photos

    Hit export. AnimateCaptions renders the captions into your video server-side with Remotion at full resolution, then you download the finished MP4 and save it straight back to your Camera Roll.

Editor walkthrough

Edit every word before you export.

Live caption preview, click-to-correct transcript, per-line drag positioning, and 32+ animated styles to pick from.

Common questions

Captioning an iPhone video — FAQ.

Do I need to download an app?

No. AnimateCaptions runs entirely in your iPhone browser — open it in Safari or Chrome and start captioning. There is no App Store download and nothing to install.

Does it work with iPhone .mov files and 4K video?

Yes. iPhone records in .mov, which is supported alongside .mp4. 4K footage is accepted too and is downscaled automatically when you export, so you do not have to convert anything first.

Will my portrait video stay portrait?

Yes. Portrait, landscape, and square videos are all supported, and iPhone portrait rotation is handled correctly — your vertical clip exports right-side up at the correct aspect ratio.

Is it free?

Yes, there is a free tier that auto-transcribes and exports with no credit card. Free exports carry a small AnimateCaptions watermark; paid plans from $7.99/month remove it — cheaper than Submagic at $19/mo or Captions.ai at $24.99/mo.

Are the captions burned into the video?

Yes. The export is a standard MP4 with the captions rendered directly into the frames, so they show on TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and anywhere else without a separate subtitle file.

What languages and video lengths are supported?

Transcription auto-detects 36+ languages. On the free tier you can caption clips up to 2 minutes and 500 MB, which covers most short-form videos you record on iPhone.

Caption your first iPhone video, free.

Open it in Safari, upload from your Camera Roll, pick a style, and save a captioned MP4 to Photos. No app, no credit card.

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