Instagram Introduces Auto-Generated Captions to Videos, Encrypted DMs Now Available in Russia, Ukraine
Instagram is now offering auto-generated captions for videos in users’ feeds. On Tuesday, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri stated that the captions feature has been “a long time coming.”
All adults in Ukraine and Russia can now use the photo-sharing app for encrypted one-on-one chats. This is part of a series of steps taken by Meta, formerly Facebook, in response to the conflict in Ukraine.
Instagram’s automated captions will be enabled by default for the platform’s creators. Until now, creators had to manually add captions to their videos, which was a time-consuming and exhausting process. The addition of automated captions streamlines the process while also making Instagram more accessible to hearing-impaired users.
It will also be easier to view Instagram videos on mute now. While auto captions are enabled by default, users can disable them by going to Advanced Settings > Accessibility > Show Captions, as well as Manage Captions in the menu of a specific video.
It’s a long time coming, but we’re excited to share a new tool that empowers those in the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.
Videos on Instagram will now have auto-generated captions, where you have the option to turn them off or on. pic.twitter.com/DNyzcdiPSU
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) March 1, 2022
The company anticipates that as the AI learns, the quality of the captions will improve. Instagram’s auto-generated video captions will be available in 17 languages at launch, with support for additional languages to be added later. According to Instagram, the languages are Hindi, English, Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
TikTok, Instagram’s rival, introduced automated captions in April last year, with the captions enabled by default for its creators. It remains to be seen whether the new feature will increase user engagement on Instagram.
The Menlo Park-based social media platform has also announced that all adults in Ukraine and Russia will be able to use encrypted one-on-one chats on Instagram. The new measure is part of a series of actions taken by Meta in response to the conflict in Ukraine, including restrictions on state media and increased fact-checking efforts.
The decision to implement end-to-end encryption on Instagram in both countries comes as Russian activists speaking out against the war may be jeopardized if the feature is not implemented.
Instagram users in these countries will be notified of the option via a notification at the top of their direct messages inbox. The notification will inform them that they can choose to convert to an encrypted format if they so desire. “This update is not available to Instagram business accounts,” the blog post adds.
End-to-end encryption was already available in Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Default end-to-end encryption will be fully implemented on Messenger only in 2023, whereas the feature is already available on WhatsApp. In January, Meta completed the rollout of end-to-end encrypted group chats and calls in Messenger.
Ordinary Russians are using @Meta's apps to express themselves and organize for action. We want them to continue to make their voices heard, share what’s happening, and organize through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. pic.twitter.com/FjTovgslCe
— Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) February 25, 2022
“Regular Russians use Meta’s apps to express themselves and organize for action.” “We want them to keep speaking up, sharing what’s going on, and organizing through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger,” said Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs.
