subtitle.im FAQs and help

In desktop Chrome, subtitle.im lets you search, copy and download YouTube transcripts, get AI summaries from available captions, and control YouTube captions across videos. It can also handle duplicate subtitles on YouTube when the player captions overlap text already in the video.

subtitle.im is a YouTube extension for desktop Chrome. It reads transcripts from a video’s available captions so you can search, revisit moments, copy and download text. It also controls YouTube captions and handles duplicates. Other sites, mobile browsers and local video files are outside its current scope.

Follow our installation guide to the Chrome Web Store, install subtitle.im, and open a YouTube video to try it free. No email is required.

No account is needed to read, search or copy transcripts, download TXT files, control captions or try free duplicate-caption handling. AI requires a connected account with available credits. Buying or restoring Pro also requires sign-in. You can use Google, GitHub or an email verification code, without setting a separate website password.

Check your address, inbox and spam folder. Codes last 10 minutes. You can resend after the page countdown ends without waiting for expiry; use the newest code after resending.

Start a connection from the extension’s account or membership controls, or follow the sign-in prompt in AI Assistant. Sign in on the website that opens; to restore Pro, use the account that owns it. Return to the extension to check the connection and membership status. If the link has expired, start a new connection from the extension.

It handles the switchable captions controlled by YouTube’s CC button and keeps subtitles embedded in the video image. After detecting embedded subtitles, it follows your duplicate-caption setting: turn off the switchable captions, ask you first, or keep them. Detection can be wrong; undo the change or turn CC back on if needed. It cannot erase text from the video image.

Yes. Choose “Auto-open” or “Auto-close” in Caption control; Auto-open requires an available caption track. “Follow YouTube” leaves the toggle alone, but duplicate-caption handling still follows its separate settings. Your manual CC choice for the current viewing takes priority over automatic settings.

Set the handling of captions in different languages to “Keep captions”, or choose “Ask first” to decide each time. This keeps the existing captions embedded in the video and the YouTube caption track; it does not generate translations or new bilingual captions.

Frame recognition uses local computing resources, but runs only when needed with limited sampling and time budgets, rather than scanning every frame of the whole video. Recognition resources are released after a period of pausing or background inactivity; detecting again can restart it. The impact varies by device. Choosing Auto-close for captions does not run frame recognition.

Check that the video has embedded captions and an available, enabled YouTube CC track, then check duplicate-caption settings and your remaining free allowance. If you chose to be asked, to keep captions, or manually changed CC this viewing, the extension respects that choice. Play until captions appear; blurry frames, unusual styles or insufficient evidence may prevent confirmation. You can detect again from the player menu or use CC yourself.

Use Undo in the notification, restore captions from the player menu, or turn on YouTube CC. After you turn them on manually, the extension will not close them automatically again during this viewing. Refreshing or returning to the video restores your saved settings and rules.

Your manual CC choice takes priority for the current viewing and stops automatic adjustment. It does not create a permanent video or channel rule. Refreshing or returning to the video restores saved settings. Pro users can set channel or video rules for a lasting preference.

Pro users can set a caption rule for the current channel in the player menu, then add an exception for a particular video. Video rules take priority over channel rules, which take priority over global settings. A manual CC choice during the current viewing overrides them all.

Keep the current YouTube video page open. Click the gray document icon below the video to open the transcript on the right, or click the gold subtitle.im icon in the browser toolbar and choose Open transcript at the top of the popup.

Enter a keyword and move between matches with Previous and Next. Click a sentence’s timestamp to seek; pause following while reading and return to the current position. Switch between available caption tracks; no translation is generated.

Copy the full text, or enable selection mode, choose sentences, and copy or download them. You can also select search matches. Text settings control timestamps, paragraphs and line breaks; each sentence has a quick copy button.

Reading, search, seeking, selection, copying and TXT downloads are free. Pro adds SRT, VTT, PDF and Markdown; paid and gifted Pro have the same benefits. SRT/VTT need a complete track with reliable timing. The 10-video allowance only counts successful duplicate-caption closures, not transcripts or caption switching.

Transcripts use YouTube’s available captions, including existing automatic captions. Videos without them cannot be transcribed, and burned-in captions are not converted into a full transcript. Some sources provide partial text, which is labeled. Live or restricted videos may be unavailable. This feature does not download video or audio.

You can switch between available caption tracks that the video already has. Switching languages does not generate a translation or add bilingual subtitles. To understand a passage in another language, select its text and ask AI to translate or explain it. This uses AI credits and returns an answer in the chat, not synchronized subtitles on the video.

Pro opens a local formatted page; choose Save as PDF in the browser’s print dialog. Opening print does not mean a file was saved. PDF search/copy for complex scripts such as Arabic may be limited by the browser; use TXT, SRT, VTT or Markdown when reliable text is needed.

Yes. Open the transcript and switch to AI Assistant to summarize key points, make study notes or ask a question. You can also select a few sentences and choose Ask AI for explanations, translations and follow-up questions. AI uses the retrieved captions, not the video’s images. Answers can be wrong; use cited timestamps to check the source.

Free and Pro users can use AI with a connected account and available credits. AI credits are separate from duplicate-caption allowances and transcript download permissions. Usage depends on the transcript, conversation, and answer, not a fixed number of questions. Check the extension for your balance and when your credits expire.

AI uses the available transcript. It does not transcribe videos without captions, read video images, or fact-check on the web. With a partial transcript, answers cover only the available content. Chat history is kept temporarily; save or download answers you want to keep.

Yes. Save useful answers to your collection and revisit them across videos. You can also copy an answer, or download answers, conversations and saved items as text files. Chat history is temporary, so save or download anything you want to keep. Saved answers remain until you delete them; downloaded files are yours to manage.

Free includes transcript reading, search, selection, copying, TXT downloads and caption controls. Each installation can successfully close duplicate captions on 10 distinct videos; this allowance does not reset monthly. Pro adds SRT, VTT, PDF and Markdown downloads, unlimited videos for duplicate-caption handling, channel and video rules, and memory of confirmed closures. AI uses separate credits; Pro does not mean unlimited AI.

Each installation can successfully close duplicate captions on 10 distinct videos. This does not reset monthly, and rewatching a counted video does not use another slot. Detection alone, failed recognition and manual CC changes do not count. After the allowance runs out, transcript reading, search, copying, TXT downloads and ordinary caption toggling still work; duplicate-caption handling on new videos requires Pro. AI uses separate credits.

Annual and Lifetime Pro have the same features: more transcript download formats, unlimited videos for duplicate-caption handling, channel and video rules, and memory of confirmed closures. Annual renews yearly. Lifetime is a one-time payment and includes this product’s future updates and maintenance. AI uses separate credits; neither plan includes unlimited AI.

The Lifetime plan is paid once, does not renew automatically, and covers the current Chrome extension for YouTube. It includes ongoing maintenance and future major and minor updates to this product, but not separate future products or platforms.

Install the extension on the new computer, start a connection from it and sign in with the account used for your purchase. Check your entitlement under My license on the website, then check Pro status in the extension. A successful connection does not mean that account has Pro; if it still shows Free, check whether you signed in to a different account.

Request a refund within 14 days of your first Pro purchase or 7 days of an annual renewal. Under the new annual terms, the refund deducts the value of included AI credits used from that payment.

Embedded-subtitle detection runs on your device; video frames are not uploaded. When you only read, search, copy or download a transcript, captions come from YouTube and are not uploaded to subtitle.im. Only when you submit an AI question are the relevant captions, question and conversation context sent to subtitle.im and its model provider.

Transcripts and reading state are cached locally and expire after 24 hours; you manage downloaded files. Temporary AI conversations remain accessible for 24 hours and are deleted within about 48 hours when scheduled cleanup runs normally; credits records are kept separately. Save or download answers you want to keep. Saved answers remain until you delete them. Model providers handle and retain data under their own policies.