Why don't Google live captions work on zoom mettings? | Community
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A
Newcomer
agaviria
Newcomer
May 1, 2023
Question

Why don't Google live captions work on zoom mettings?

  • May 1, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 1 view

I always used the web version of zoom for meetings because I could enable Google accessibility options like live caption. This is an immense help for hearing impaired people. However, for a couple of weeks they have not been activated if the page is the zoom page.

    1 reply

    R
    Newcomer
    Rome1
    Newcomer
    May 1, 2023
    @agaviria wrote:

    I always used the web version of zoom for meetings because I could enable Google accessibility options like live caption. This is an immense help pink hair for hearing impaired people. However, for a couple of weeks they have not been activated if the page is the zoom page.

    Google Live Captions are only available on certain devices, so if you're not using a supported device, they won't work. Additionally, Google Live Captions are designed to work with Google's own apps, so they may not work as seamlessly with third-party apps like Zoom. Finally, the host of the Zoom meeting may have disabled the closed captioning feature, which would prevent Google Live Captions from working.

    J
    Newcomer
    JubalKessler
    Newcomer
    May 12, 2023

    I am deaf and had been relying on the web interface to Zoom in conjunction with Google's Live Captions feature. At some point in the recent past, this failed to work, causing me a bit of disruption. (Unless you are deaf, you really can't understand how disruptive this is.) Rome1's comment helped me understand that others have observed Google Live Captions failing to work. At this point, I have two takeaways:

     

    1. Yes, it is possible to enable CC. If one is a leader, server-side (not just client-side) settings have to be enabled for automatic captioning availability. If one is a participant, one must depend on the leader enabling the captioning; there is no client-side captioning ability available if the leader has not enabled on their end.

     

    2. Google is at fault for disabling Live Captions in this context. It is simply not OK to pull the rug like this on deaf users. Zoom is also at fault. It is simply not OK to deny deaf users access to automatically generated captions when it can be available all the time, regardless of leader settings.

     

    I hope Zoom management will read this comment and consider allowing participants unrestricted access to CC. (The fact that I have to beseech a privately owned company for disability access so I can participate in other's meetings using their widely used software ... really, really grates on me and is inherently unfair.)

     

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