Give your Reel words people can follow.

Some Reels start with a person talking. Others start with the things they make, the places they visit or a small moment worth sharing. Tap Captions helps you add captions or narration to either kind of video.

Start with a clip from your library

Choose the footage in Photos or Files. For a talking-head clip, generate captions from the existing speech and check the wording. For a silent sequence, write a short script and use text to speech to add the explanation.

Work with the sequence you want to publish. If the footage needs substantial cutting or rearranging, prepare that edit before you add final captions. It saves you from reviewing timing twice.

Leave room for Instagram's interface

An account name, description and action buttons share the screen with your video. Keep important words away from the edges and avoid covering the subject. Preview the saved video inside an Instagram draft before publishing.

Use a caption background when the footage changes between light and dark. Watch without sound to make sure the explanation still works. A spoken ingredient, measurement or product name may need an extra careful check.

Finish the edit before you post

Tap Captions processes the edit on your iPhone. Save a finished copy, then open Instagram when you are ready to publish. Uploading to Instagram is a separate step that needs a connection.

Decide whether to use embedded captions, Instagram's own caption feature, or a combination that you have checked in a draft. Two caption layers can overlap and make the video harder to read.

Try it with one short video

Explore the TestFlight beta, or use the caption readability guide to review a Reel you have already made.