Live Captioning

[nikt]

Google Chrome and Safari browser have live captioning feature to enable deaf and hard of hearing people like myself to follow the dialogues on the video. Live Captioning will caption the video automatically if the audio of any voice is detected just like dragon speaking software. Firefox should include that feature to increase availability of the accessibility features packed in the browser.

[gitgudhannah]

Please add subtitles and captions. It's nearly 2025 and it is outrageous that we have to ask for this still.

[Kurosaki]

I don't know why it is taking so long to get this feature. It's been 2 1/2 years now. I would really like to return to Firefox more often like I used to, but it's lacking accessibility and some other features.

[Kurosaki]

Live Captions

I am part of the deaf and hard of hearing community. I love Firefox but sometimes I don't use it due to the lack of certain accessibility and translation features. It is imperative that we have Live Captions when a video is playing or when we are using video chat within Firefox. Chrome and Safari has these features. However, I used Chrome more than Safari. I would like to change that by returning to Firefox more often like I used to in the past. If Firefox is looking to improve their web browser and exceed expectations against it's biggest competitors (Chrome, Safari, etc) then they need to start listening to the feedback of their users. Live Captions and Live Translate is a great feature for those who are deaf and hard of hearing and translate a different language if that some people can understand. (Please see screenshot below as an example)

I look forward to seeing these features on Firefox. Thanks.

 

[Jon]

(Note: similar ideas have been merged into this thread)

[Nixo]

it's pretty sad, i've asked years ago if mozilla would please add captions to their browser. would gladly move over from chrome if that sole feature got added. especially when chrome is just pushing out more and more ads. i'd love to move over to firefox but... no captions 😕 

[frot]

we need live captions

[Jo1244]

As a foreigner I need automatic close captions for english video using Firefox.

This feature is available for Google Chrome for at least one year, why nothing (no Add-on, no integrated feature) for Firefox ?

[rebecca1000]

Please get live captioning added. Firefox is still behind Chrome because of this.

[benwerd]

This is important for accessibility and for feature parity with other browsers. It would be great to see this added to Firefox.

[silver5]

@Jon - hi, following up on this. Any updates?

Also, how exactly does this Ideas page work? Do the most-voted suggestions actually get added to the to-do list?

This live captioning issue is a big one. It's what’s pushing a lot of people to switch to Chrome (as many have pointed out), and once they do, they usually stay there. It's just not practical to keep switching between browsers.

This feature isn't just a nice-to-have. It’s essential for the deaf and hard of hearing community, and it would also be a huge help for neurodivergent users... honestly, for anyone who benefits from captions.

Would really appreciate an update or some clarity on how these decisions are made.

[Penrosian]

I have a friend who wants to switch to firefox but can't because of the lack of live captioning. Yall are actively getting less users because of exactly this feature being missing.

[IrisDelArco]

I was thinking of using Firefox, however, you guys don't have live captions or any accessibility feature... It's sad. Also, I have read you've been "working" on this a few years, and nothing 😞 disappointing 

[IrisDelArco]

How much more Kudos do you need

[Nekrallen]

As a fairly recent Firefox user coming from Chrome, I find myself still having to use Chrome just for the live caption feature... It shouldn't be necessary to utilise two browsers at once because of this (instead of preferably only using/having one browser for everything), but live captioning is quite a useful tool for anyone who would benefit from them (and there are several circumstances in which they do for people of various backgrounds).

To add, I've tried researching few times about any possible add-on/extension for live captions, but those still don't exist. No one will make it for an extension (if it's even possible), so why not integrate it as a built-in browser feature? Alike Chrome, it can simply be a toggle so people can choose whether they want it or not, but to have the option at all would be a great help for many.

It's also useful for those who don't have Windows 11 (seeing that the OS offers general live captioning), of which there are valid reasons, so it would also help those users to have the ability within the browser.

There are seldom any alternatives or easily accessible options available, so that's why this is such a requested feature. It'd be great to see if there's actually any progress or consideration for implementing it, or even if providing any reasons for not being able to add it or why it's taking years since the original request for it to occur. Communication would help the community better understand the situation than simply having frustrations over the silence regarding any attention to this (unless I'm missing a source of provided info for this matter).

[Nixo]

Add live captioning like Chrome has it in their settings.

I'm a deaf ex-firefox user. Since there's no developer updates or clarity from the devs I'm suggesting this feature to be added again. Until then Firefox is not a viable browser for me to use. There exist no proper working extension. Chrome has it litterally in their settings. Which adds a toggle button next to the URL (to enable or disable live captioning when sound is detected.) This is a extremely NEEDED feature for people hard of hearing and fully deaf people. (and a very useful option for people that just want to watch videos without sound and no avaiable captions at work for example.)