# On-Device Captions for Chrome Screen Recordings

Generate English captions in RecBaba’s local editor. The speech model runs on your computer — Pro and Max, no transcription upload.

Category: Editor. Published 2026-09-18.

![RecBaba editor showing word-level captions on a screen recording timeline.](https://www.recbaba.com/blog/cover-captions.jpg)

> **Key takeaway:** Captions are Pro and Max, generated in the browser. The first run downloads a speech model to this computer. Audio never leaves the device for captions. Cloud transcript after Share is a different tool.

Most “auto captions” for a screen recording send the soundtrack to a cloud speech API. RecBaba’s editor captions do not. On Pro and Max you generate English captions on this computer. Word timings come back with the lines, so playback can highlight the spoken word. Free can still trim, overlay text, and export — captions are the paid on-device layer, not a reason to upload.

![Caption overlay with the spoken word highlighted, and Simple, Bold, TV bar style options.](https://www.recbaba.com/screenshots/captions.png)

*Styles sit on the timeline. Edit a line without regenerating the rest of the take.*

## How to generate captions

1. Stop a recording and open it in the local editor. Nothing has uploaded.
2. On Pro or Max, generate captions. The first run fetches a speech model to this machine.
3. Wait for the lines to land on the timeline. Play the clip — the spoken word lights up.
4. Fix a wrong line in place. Change style or drag the caption to a snap point.
5. Export MP4. Captions bake into the file. Share is still a separate button.

## What you can style

- Simple, Bold, and TV bar presets.
- Drag to lower third, center, or top, with snap guides.
- Add a caption by hand at the playhead if you skipped generate.
- Edit one line without regenerating the take.

| Tool | Where it runs | Plan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Editor captions | This computer | Pro and Max |
| Share transcript | After Share, speech-to-text provider | Pro+ (Cloud Storage) |
| Summary and chapters | From a ready transcript | Pro and Max |

*Captions in the editor are not the share-page transcript.*

## When to skip captions

A five-second bug clip for a teammate rarely needs a caption track. A tutorial you will publish often does. RecBaba will not invent captions on Free, and it will not upload the audio “to help you” — if you want the burned-in track, generate it here, then export.

> **English, on this device:** The on-device model is English. A share-page transcript after upload can cover the spoken take for viewers who never download the MP4.