Facebook has quietly rolled out its auto-subtitling function for videos to Pages in the United States.
The feature, which was released exclusively for video ads in February 2016, provides captions for English-language clips through an automated process. Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch that it began rolling out the function to Pages in October.
Video captions on Facebook are powered by voice recognition, allowing Pages and marketers to manually edit the transcriptions in case of errors. Over time, as more people use the AI-assisted subtitling system, it could develop into a powerful tool — especially since the social network itself predicts that by 2021 video will generate 70 percent of its traffic.
It’s also important to note that auto-play videos (introduced to the platform in late 2013) are traditionally served with the sound off, although that may be changing judging by the company’s tests in August.
As a result, advertisers were initially forced to create clips with hard-coded subtitles that appealed to users even when muted. Viewers could then decide whether to turn the sound on or not. Either way, eyeballs glued to a clip equal higher engagement metrics for Facebook, which equals more ad revenue.
Auto-captioning made the entire process easier for advertisers, and now too for Page admins. When a video is uploaded to a Page, a “generate” button can be selected in the video editor (or above the clip in the feed) to automatically create subtitles. The captions are then broken down for short segments of the video, so that Page admins can manually make corrections and play back the snippet to see transcriptions alongside the action on screen.
The move should appeal to small and medium-sized businesses on Facebook looking to create more promotional content, and to video creators and influencers. Facebook has not disclosed if the tool will be made available to general users in the future.
Instagram is testing a new format for long-form videos called Features. It allows select creators to upload horizontal videos running up to 90 minutes long. Instagram has already tested the new format with creators in Brazil, and now, it's expanding to tens of thousands of creators across the US.
How will Instagram's new Features format work?
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
I have lost count of how many times I have gone to bed thinking I will finally sleep on time, only to somehow end up scrolling Instagram or X again. A few minutes turn into an hour, then another, and before I notice, it is 2 or 3 a.m. The next morning, I am usually annoyed with myself because I could have just slept and felt considerably better for the day ahead.
It is also a surprisingly hard habit to beat. Knowing you should put the phone down does not always help once it is already in your hand. Brick Night is a new gadget built around that exact problem. Instead of relying on you to remember to turn on an app blocker, it automatically restricts selected apps and websites when your phone enters your chosen sleep space during the hours you set.