How to Enable or Disable Captions in Microsoft Teams
Live captions in Microsoft Teams display text on your screen during a meeting to show what people say as they speak. This feature acts like subtitles for your call and supports over 30 different languages.
You can turn this setting on whenever you need extra help following a conversation in a noisy room or during a difficult audio connection. These live captions only show up while the meeting runs and do not stay on your screen after you hang up.
Enable live captions by going to Settings, then Accessibility, and toggling “Always show captions in my calls and meetings.” To disable them, simply toggle the same switch off.
How to Enable or Disable Captions in Teams
Turning Microsoft Teams captions on or off for all upcoming meetings takes only a few clicks inside the app’s settings. Opening the Teams app, clicking the three dots next to the profile picture, and navigating to Settings, then Accessibility, controls whether captions appear by default during calls.
1. Launch the Microsoft Teams app from your Start menu .
2. Click the Settings and more (…) button near your profile picture.
3. Select Settings from the menu.
4. Click the Accessibility tab on the left.
5. Under Captions, toggle the switch for Always show captions in my calls and meetings.
Meetings will now automatically display text at the bottom of the screen.
Changing Spoken Language During a Meeting
Meetings conducted in different languages require changing the spoken language for captions mid-call. Clicking the 'More' button in the top toolbar, selecting 'Language and speech,' and choosing the correct language ensures accurate transcriptions.
- During a meeting, click the More (...) button in the top toolbar.
- Select Language and speech.
- Choose Spoken language and select the language being spoken.
Teams will now accurately transcribe the language being spoken.
Administrative and Policy Controls (Admin Only)
IT administrators manage Microsoft Teams caption settings for entire organizations through the Teams admin center (a web-based portal for managing Teams) or PowerShell (a command-line shell and scripting language).
Disabling auto-captioning stops sensitive spoken information from being recorded and stored within meeting transcripts for all user accounts.
See Also
Summary
Enabling Microsoft Teams captions makes discussions more accessible and understandable for every participant.
Does Teams store caption data?
Live captions process in real-time and remain unstored by Microsoft after meetings end. Enabling live transcription saves the transcript file to the meeting organizer's OneDrive or SharePoint storage, subject to corporate data retention policies (rules about how long data is kept).
Who has access to live caption data?
Only meeting participants view live captions on their personal screens. Saved transcripts restrict access exclusively to attendees and individuals holding explicit permissions for the cloud storage file location.
Can I prevent participants from copying meeting transcripts?
Administrators restrict transcript downloads and copies through meeting policies inside the Teams admin center. Disabling transcription features or tightening file permissions prevents participants from saving or sharing meeting text.
What is the difference between captions and transcripts?
Live captions vanish immediately once meetings conclude, serving temporary accessibility needs. Live transcripts save permanently as documents, allowing users to search, download, and review conversations later.
What are Teams Premium features for captions?
Teams Premium provides advanced functionality like live translated captions. Participants view captions in preferred languages while speakers use entirely different ones. Organizations also gain granular control over meeting security and branding.
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About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard, a writer for Geek Rewind, is a tech enthusiast who loves breaking down complex IT topics into simple, easy-to-understand ideas. With years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, he’s developed a knack for offering practical tips and solutions. Richard aims to make technology more accessible and actionable. He's deeply committed to the Geek Rewind community, always ready to answer questions and engage in discussions.
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