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Pulseaccessibility

Videos Have Captions

What This Audit Checks

This audit verifies that every <video> element on the page includes at least one <track> element with kind="captions". Captions provide a text alternative for spoken dialogue and relevant sound effects.

Why It Matters

Users who are deaf or hard of hearing cannot access audio content without captions. Captions also benefit users in noisy environments, non-native speakers, and anyone who prefers reading along with video content.

How to Fix It

  • Add a <track> element with kind="captions" inside every <video> tag. Point the src to a WebVTT (.vtt) file.
  • Include sound effects and speaker identification in your captions, not just dialogue. For example: [door slams] or [Alice]: Hello.
  • Set a default track with the default attribute so captions display automatically.
  • For embedded videos (YouTube, Vimeo), enable captions through the platform's settings. This audit only applies to native <video> elements.
<!-- Bad: no captions track -->
<video src="/demo.mp4" controls></video>

<!-- Good: captions track included -->
<video src="/demo.mp4" controls>
  <track
    kind="captions"
    src="/demo-captions.vtt"
    srclang="en"
    label="English"
    default
  />
</video>

WEBVTT

00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:04.000
[Alice]: Welcome to the Ciphera demo.

00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:08.000
Let me show you how file encryption works.

How Pulse Tracks This

Pulse flags this audit in your Lighthouse accessibility score. When the audit fails, Pulse shows which elements triggered it so you can fix them directly.

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