Live captions translation sounds like one feature, and in Chrome it's actually two settings that sit next to each other. Live Caption writes down what's being said in a tab. Live Translate sends those captions to Google and shows them in your language. Both are free and built into the browser, so they're the first thing to try before installing anything. The Chrome facts below come from Google's Live Caption help page, read on 30 October 2026.
What Chrome Live Caption does on its own
Live Caption creates captions for audio playing in Chrome: videos, podcasts, live streams and video calls. It runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook.
You switch it on in Chrome's settings:
- Open Settings from the More menu in Chrome and go to Accessibility.
- Turn on Live Caption. On Linux it's under Captions.
- Add languages if the speech isn't in English. Chrome downloads a language pack, and you choose your preferred caption language.
Captions appear in a bubble you can drag to another spot in the browser. You can change the font, size and colour, and collapse or expand the bubble with its arrow.
On privacy, Google is specific: for Live Caption, "all audio and captions are processed locally, are never stored, and never leave your device."
Can Chrome translate live captions?
Yes. Live Translate is a switch in the same Live Caption settings, and then you pick a language under Translate to. Google describes it plainly: "You can send captions to Google to automatically translate them." So the local-only promise above covers the captions and stops at translation; translated captions go to Google.
The language list Google publishes for Live Translate sits in the Chromebook Plus section of the page. The Windows, Mac and Linux section gives the steps without a list, so check the drop-down on your own machine.
When Chrome's captions aren't enough
The bubble lives inside the browser. If you need to read a call while you work in another app, it's out of view as soon as Chrome is.
There's one running caption and no names. In a four-person call you see words, not who said them.
Nothing is kept. That's the right default for privacy, but if you need to go back to what was decided, there's nothing to go back to.
And a video that already has subtitles gets captioned from its sound anyway, so the translation always trails the speaker.
Translating live captions on any tab with an extension
SubLive is a Chrome extension that does the same job with those gaps filled. You start it on the tab you want, and the translated subtitles appear in a window you can float above other windows, including desktop apps, so a lecture or a call stays readable while you write in something else.
- Install the extension from the install page and sign in. The first 30 minutes are free after you confirm your email.
- Open the tab with the call, lecture, stream or video, and choose the language you read.
- Press start, or use the shortcut Alt+Shift+S.
Common spoken languages are detected on their own; any other you name once. Calls and live streams are translated from the sound, so subtitles run about a sentence behind the speaker.
Videos that already have subtitles
On YouTube, or on a site whose player has a subtitle track, SubLive can translate the track itself instead of listening. It translates ahead of playback, so each line shows up together with the speech, and auto-generated YouTube captions are put back into sentences before they're translated. Live streams and YouTube Shorts are still translated from the sound.
Calls with several people
In dialog mode, every voice gets its own label and colour. On the big video-call sites in the browser, SubLive also picks up the name from the participant tile that lights up, and those names stay on your screen. If you want the conversation afterwards, a text transcript is saved only when you turn that on, and it expires on its own. Audio is never stored.
Where it stops
It needs Chrome 116 or newer and hears Chrome tabs only, not desktop apps. Paid film platforms that protect their audio stay silent to it, and SubLive doesn't try to get around that. The translation is machine-made, so check anything with consequences. For lectures specifically, SubLive for lectures covers recorded and live classes.
Frequently asked questions
Does Chrome Live Caption keep a transcript?
No. Google says audio and captions are never stored. If you need the text later, you need a tool that saves it, and SubLive does that only when you turn transcripts on.
What's the difference between translating a video's subtitles and translating its sound?
Timing. From the sound, a line can only be translated once it's been said, so it arrives about a sentence late. From the subtitle track, every line is translated before it plays and appears with the speech. When a video has no track, SubLive falls back to the sound.
Can I keep translating a tab I'm not looking at?
Yes. Subtitles follow the tab where you pressed start, not the one in front of you, and the floating window stays visible on top. Switch to your notes or another tab and the lecture keeps coming through.
Can I see the original and the translation together?
Yes. In the appearance settings, turn on the original line and it sits under the translation. People learning the language use it that way.
SubLive is not affiliated with Google.