The Persistent Subtitles
Google Chrome includes a powerful accessibility feature known as “Live Caption.” Utilizing on-device machine learning, this feature can instantly generate real-time subtitles for absolutely any audio playing through the browser—whether it is a YouTube video, a podcast, or even an embedded advertisement. When active, a black floating box appears at the bottom of your screen, transcribing the dialogue. While this is an incredible tool for the deaf or hard of hearing, or for watching videos in a quiet room, it can be highly intrusive for users who do not need it, as the transcription box constantly pops up over webpage content every time a random video auto-plays in a background tab.
Silencing the Transcription
To remove the floating black box and disable the Live Caption feature completely in Google Chrome, you must turn off the specific accessibility setting within the browser.
Open Google Chrome. Click the three vertical dots (the customize menu) in the extreme top-right corner of the window, just below the “X” button. Select Settings from the dropdown menu. In the left-hand navigation sidebar, scroll down near the bottom and click on Accessibility. Look at the right-hand panel. The very first option at the top of the list should be a toggle switch explicitly named Live Caption (it usually notes that it automatically creates captions for English audio). Click this toggle switch so it turns from blue to grey (Off). The change is immediate. You do not need to restart the browser; the black transcription box will instantly vanish and will not reappear, even if you open a new video.