# **Google Meet Significantly Enhances Live Captions and Translated Captions**
Google Meet is upgrading its accessibility and user experience with a notable enhancement to its **Live Captions** and **Live Translate** functionalities. These changes are designed to facilitate smoother virtual interactions, especially for individuals who depend on captions for accessibility or translation purposes.
## **What’s Changed?**
Google has rolled out a **30-minute visibility window** for Live Captions and Live Translate, enabling users to revisit and review previous discussions. In the past, captions and translations would vanish almost instantaneously after appearing on the display. Now, users can scroll back through the last 30 minutes of dialogue, making it simpler to catch up on any overlooked information.
### **Highlighted Features of the Update:**
– **Transcript History for 30 Minutes:** Users can now scroll back through the last 30 minutes of captions or translations during a call.
– **Captions You Can Scroll Through:** The transcript stays visible, allowing individuals to review earlier segments of the conversation at their pace.
– **”Jump to the Bottom” Feature:** When users have caught up, they can swiftly return to the current captions with just one click.
## **Why This is Important**
This enhancement holds particular significance for:
– **Individuals with hearing difficulties**, who can now revisit missed aspects of a conversation without needing assistance.
– **Non-native language speakers**, who can take their time to comprehend translations while staying engaged in the dialogue.
– **Participants in fast-moving meetings**, where crucial information may be presented rapidly and needs to be reviewed.
Google states:
> *”This update allows you to scroll back and check out the last 30 minutes of captions at your own speed. This can be especially useful if you missed part of the discussion or want to go over specific points that were mentioned earlier.”*
## **How to Utilize the New Feature**
To benefit from this upgrade, users must enable **Live Captions** or **Live Translate** in Google Meet:
1. **Join a Google Meet session.**
2. **Activate Captions:** Hit the closed-captioning (CC) button. On certain devices, this option may be found under the three-dot menu.
3. **Review the transcript:** Users can navigate up to 30 minutes back in the chat.
4. **Return to live captions:** Click the “Jump to the bottom” button to go back to the current feed.
## **Availability and Deployment**
The update is now being rolled out for both **paid and personal Google Workspace accounts**.
– **Rapid Release Domains:** Users can expect to see the feature within a few days.
– **Scheduled Release Domains:** The rollout commences on **February 24, 2025**, and may take as long as 15 days to reach all users.
## **Concluding Remarks**
The update to Google Meet’s **Live Captions and Live Translate** is a transformative advancement for accessibility and communication. By enabling users to scroll back through captions for up to 30 minutes, Google is enhancing the inclusivity and user-friendliness of virtual meetings. Whether you’re catching up on discussions you missed or reviewing translated content, this feature guarantees that no one is excluded from the conversation.
As Google continues to develop its video conferencing tools, this enhancement marks progress in making online communication more **accessible, effective, and inclusive**.
