Cannot see special captions on some YouTube videos? Here's what's going on
YouTube has temporarily disabled certain custom caption formats like SRV3 and YTT after they started causing video playback problems for some viewers
 "Cannot see special captions on some YouTube videos? Here's what's going on")
Some YouTube viewers and creators have noticed that certain custom subtitles — especially colourful or stylised captions — have disappeared from videos. According to YouTube, this is not a permanent change, but a temporary measure after those caption formats started causing playback problems on the platform. The issue mainly affects videos that use special caption file types such as SRV3 and YTT.
What happened
According to a report by 9To5Google, creators began noticing that YouTube Studio no longer allowed them to upload SRV3 caption files. Some also reported that previously uploaded SRV3 or YTT caption files were being removed from their videos. With SRV3, creators can:
- Use different colours for different speakers
- Add outlines or drop shadows to text
- Position subtitles in specific areas on the screen
- Show translations in a custom style under the original language
Their sudden disappearance led many creators and users to speculate that YouTube was quietly phasing out advanced caption formats, possibly in favour of basic or AI-generated captions.
What YouTube said
YouTube later confirmed that SRV3 and YTT captions were disabled on purpose.
In a post on its official forum, the company said that videos using these caption formats were causing playback failures for some viewers. To prevent broader issues across the platform, YouTube temporarily limited the serving of these files.
YouTube said:
- Creators may not be able to upload SRV3 or YTT caption files
- Previously uploaded SRV3 or YTT captions may not appear
- Viewers may not see these captions on affected videos
YouTube said the change is meant to be temporary for almost all videos, and that teams are investigating the problem. However, it has not given a timeline for when SRV3 and YTT captions will return.
For now, creators who rely on specialised captions will have to use more basic subtitle formats until YouTube resolves the playback issues tied to SRV3 and YTT files.