YouTube Has Reportedly Disabled and Started Removing Specialized Captions

YouTube has disabled and begun deleting SRV3 captions—impacting VTubers, multilingual creators, and fans of stylized subtitles.
Matilda
YouTube Has Reportedly Disabled and Started Removing Specialized Captions
YouTube Removes SRV3 Captions, Sparking Creator Backlash In a sudden and unannounced move, YouTube has disabled support for SRV3 caption files—a specialized subtitle format long used by international creators, VTubers, and multilingual channels to deliver richly styled, custom-positioned subtitles. Reports confirm that not only is the upload option gone from YouTube Studio, but existing SRV3 captions are now being removed from live videos. For creators who relied on this format to provide nuanced translations or visually enhanced subtitles, the change represents a significant loss of creative control—and raises questions about YouTube’s broader strategy for accessibility and AI-driven automation. Credit: Google What Are SRV3 Captions—and Why Did Creators Love Them? SRV3 (SubRip Version 3) is an advanced caption format that goes far beyond standard .srt files. Unlike basic subtitles, which offer plain white text centered at the bottom of the screen, SRV3 allows creators to customize font c…