YouTube captions, the way you like them

Watching a course in another language? You may want captions as soon as the video starts. If subtitles are already part of the picture, you may prefer to hide the extra layer. And sometimes you just want to listen, turning CC on when you need it.

subtitle.im gives you two settings for these habits: Caption control decides how captions normally start; Duplicate caption settings decide what happens when two subtitle layers appear. Choose your usual preference, then adjust how duplicates are handled.

Used subtitle.im before? Here’s what changed

Starting with version 1.4.0, the old option to open captions automatically became Caption control, with three choices: Follow YouTube, Auto-open and Auto-close. This separates leaving captions alone from actively turning them off.

Your previous choice carries over. If the old switch was on, you get Auto-open. If it was off, you get Follow YouTube. To have captions turned off when you enter a video, choose Auto-close yourself. Your saved duplicate caption preferences and channel and video rules are kept.

Version 1.4.1 added an information icon beside Duplicate caption settings when Auto-close is selected. It explains why the duplicate setting can still say On while detection is paused. The close-up below shows this state.

Choose the mode that fits how you watch

Open the subtitle.im menu in the YouTube player and select Caption control. You can also change it in the extension popup.

Caption control

• Follow YouTube
• Auto-open
• Auto-close

• Auto-open: Turns on available YouTube captions. Useful for interviews, courses or any video you like to read along with, without reaching for CC every time you change videos.
• Auto-close: Turns captions off. Useful if you usually listen without captions or read the subtitles already in the picture. You can still turn CC on for a passage you need help with.
• Follow YouTube: Does not turn captions on for you; it keeps YouTube’s existing state. Useful if you prefer YouTube’s own caption habits and only want help with duplicates when needed.

These modes control the separate caption layer that CC can show or hide. Subtitles burned into the video remain visible. If a video has no available captions, subtitle.im does not create any.

How do the modes work with duplicate caption settings?

Duplicate caption settings are independent. With Auto-open or Follow YouTube, duplicate handling can still turn captions off after detection confirms a duplicate, provided captions and duplicate handling are both on.

For example, Auto-open first shows captions on an interview. If the picture also contains the same dialogue, subtitle.im can hide the extra caption layer after confirming it. Auto-open does not mean captions stay on throughout; Follow YouTube does not stop duplicate handling.

With Auto-close, captions are turned off directly. Duplicate detection does not run or use your duplicate-handling allowance. Your saved duplicate settings remain ready for when you switch back to another mode.

Caption control: Auto-close

Duplicate caption settings: On

Turns captions off without running duplicate caption detection. Your saved preferences are kept.

To leave caption visibility entirely to YouTube, choose Follow YouTube and turn off the automatic closing option in Duplicate caption settings. If detection cannot confirm a result or has insufficient evidence, captions stay on.

Different languages? Keep the translation you need

A video may have Japanese subtitles in the picture while you are reading YouTube’s English translation. Both layers can be useful. Under the different-language option in Duplicate caption settings, you can choose:

• Close automatically: Turn off the separate captions after detection confirms the result, keeping the subtitles in the picture.
• Ask first: Keep captions on and let you decide when prompted. If you make no choice, they stay on.
• Keep captions: Leave the separate layer visible for translation or language practice.

If you rely on translated captions, keeping them or asking first is a good fit. After detection closes captions, you can restore them with Undo in the notification or through the player menu.

Need a temporary change? Use CC

Automatic settings describe your usual preference; you stay in control while watching. Click CC or press C and subtitle.im stops automatic adjustments for that viewing, giving your manual choice priority.

This does not change your global preference or save a lasting rule. Reloading or returning to the video applies your saved settings again. Pro users can set lasting exceptions for individual videos or channels. Priority is your manual choice for this viewing → video rule → channel rule → global setting.

If you often need captions, try Auto-open with duplicate handling. If you mainly read subtitles in the picture, try Auto-close. If you prefer YouTube’s existing behavior, choose Follow YouTube. You can always use CC for a temporary change.