CC Caption — Closed Captioning for Live Streams
CC (closed captioning) makes your live stream accessible to everyone. Here's how CC captions work for streaming and how to set them up.
Start Translating Your Stream →Last updated: March 23, 2026
Quick Answer
CC captions (closed captions) are real-time text overlays showing what's being said on a stream. Unlike YouTube's built-in captions, Twitch and Kick require third-party tools. StreamTranslate provides CC captions plus real-time translation in 28+ languages via OBS.
What Are CC Captions?
CC stands for "closed captions" — text displayed on screen that transcribes spoken dialogue in real time. On TV, CC is built in. On live streams, it's not — you need a tool to generate and display captions.
CC captions help deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, people watching on mute (common on mobile), and non-native speakers who can read English better than they can hear it at stream-chat speed.
CC Captions on Twitch vs YouTube, X, and TikTok
YouTube has basic auto-captions for live streams, but they're often inaccurate and can't be customized. Twitch has zero built-in captioning — if you want CC on Twitch, you must use a third-party tool.
Kick also has no native captions. StreamTranslate works across all three platforms because it runs as an OBS overlay, independent of the streaming platform.
How to Add CC Captions to Your Stream
StreamTranslate is the easiest way to add CC captions to any live stream:
- Go to streamtranslate.live/control
- Select your language (captions appear in your language + any translation language)
- Copy the overlay URL and add as OBS Browser Source
- Captions appear live as you speak — under 2 seconds of latency
Frequently Asked Questions
What does CC mean on streams?
CC stands for closed captions — real-time text showing what the streamer is saying. It makes streams accessible to deaf/hard-of-hearing viewers and non-native speakers.
Does Twitch, YouTube, X, and TikTok have built-in closed captions?
No. Twitch, YouTube, X, and TikTok does not offer built-in CC. You need a third-party tool like StreamTranslate to add closed captions to your Twitch stream.
StreamTranslate Team
Published by the StreamTranslate team. We build real-time live stream translation tools for Twitch, Kick, and YouTube, X, and TikTok streamers.
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