Controlling Your Viewing Experience
Closed captions and subtitles are essential accessibility tools, allowing deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers to enjoy modern entertainment. They are also incredibly popular among general audiences who want to catch every mumbled line of dialogue or watch foreign-language films. However, if you do not need them, having large blocks of text constantly flashing across the bottom of your screen can be incredibly distracting, ruining the cinematography of a carefully shot scene.
Unlike traditional television broadcasts, where subtitles are often hardcoded into the feed or controlled via a clunky set-top box menu, streaming services like Amazon Prime Video allow you to toggle subtitles on and off instantaneously. The process is entirely software-driven, meaning you can adjust the text settings directly from the video player without interrupting your movie.
Whether you are watching on a smart TV, a web browser, or a mobile device, you can banish unwanted subtitles with just a few clicks or taps.
How to Turn Off Subtitles (Smart TVs and Streaming Sticks)
If you are watching Prime Video on a large screen—using a smart TV app, a Roku, an Apple TV, a Fire TV Stick, or a modern gaming console—the interface is generally identical.
- Open the Prime Video app and begin playing a movie or television episode.
- Once the video is actively playing, pick up your remote control and press the Up arrow (or press the main select/OK button). This will reveal the playback controls (play, pause, fast forward) and a set of icons near the top or bottom of the screen.
- Use the directional arrows on your remote to navigate to the Subtitles and Audio icon. It looks like a small speech bubble or a square with the letters “CC” (Closed Captioning) inside it.
- Press the Select/OK button on your remote to open this menu.
- You will see two columns. Navigate to the Subtitles column.
- Scroll to the very top of the list and select the option labelled Off.
- Press the Back button on your remote to close the menu and return to your movie. The text should immediately disappear from the screen.
How to Turn Off Subtitles (Web Browser)
If you are watching Prime Video on a laptop or desktop computer (Windows or Mac) via a web browser like Chrome, Safari, or Edge, the process is even faster.
- Go to the Prime Video website and start playing your chosen content.
- Move your mouse anywhere over the video player to reveal the interface controls.
- Look in the top-right corner of the video player for the Subtitles and Audio icon (the speech bubble).
- Click the icon to open the drop-down menu.
- Under the “Subtitles” section, click on Off.
- The menu will close automatically, and the subtitles will vanish.
How to Turn Off Subtitles (iOS and Android App)
If you are watching on an iPhone, iPad, or Android tablet using the official Prime Video mobile app, the controls are slightly different to accommodate touchscreens.
- Open the app and start playing a video.
- Tap anywhere in the centre of the screen to bring up the playback controls.
- Look in the top-right corner of the screen for the Subtitles icon (the speech bubble).
- Tap the icon.
- In the menu that appears, tap on Off under the Subtitles heading.
- Tap anywhere outside the menu box to close it and resume watching.
Why Do Subtitles Keep Turning Back On?
If you successfully turn off the subtitles, but they mysteriously reappear the next time you watch a different show, you likely have a global accessibility setting enabled on your device. For example, if you have “Closed Captions” permanently enabled in the main settings menu of your Apple TV or Roku, those devices will constantly attempt to force Prime Video to display text, overriding your in-app preferences.
To fix this permanently, you must exit the Prime Video app, navigate to the main Settings menu of your physical streaming device (not the app settings), find the Accessibility section, and ensure that system-wide Closed Captions are turned Off.
