- Automatic dubbing is active by default on channels with enabled access.
- It can be disabled from YouTube Studio in the advanced settings section.
- Viewers can switch languages if the video offers multiple tracks.
- Each dub can be manually reviewed and approved before publication.
For some time now, YouTube has been rolling out a feature that automatically generates audio tracks dubbed into different languages. While this feature aims to make videos more accessible to global audiences, many users find it annoying that the audio defaults to "dubbed" and they can't hear the creator in their original language without having to manually adjust the settings.
If you've encountered videos that play directly with a translated voice, without any input from you, it's likely that automatic dubbing is enabled by default. This complete guide will explain how to disable it on your channel if you're a creator, how to select the original language if you're a viewer, and what options you have depending on the device you're using.
What is YouTube auto-dubbing?
Auto-dubbing is a YouTube feature that allows a video to play with an audio track automatically translated into another language. The purpose of this technology is to enable international audiences to better understand the content without relying exclusively on subtitles. These audio tracks are generated using Artificial Intelligence and are added as an additional option within the player.
Automatically dubbed videos are easily identified because they include a specific mention in the description, indicating that the content has been translated by this automated tool.
When is automatic dubbing activated?
The feature is enabled by default on new videos uploaded by creators. whose channel has access to this option. That is, if you're a creator and YouTube has enabled this feature on your account, any video you upload will be automatically dubbed into other supported languages.
This machine translation It is only available for certain source languages and destination. For now, if your video is in English, it can be dubbed into languages like Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Hindi, and Indonesian, and vice versa for videos in these languages that need to be translated into English.
How to disable automatic dubbing on your YouTube channel?
If you're a content creator and prefer your videos to be viewed in their original language without dubbing, you can change your settings from YouTube Studio.
Steps to disable automatic dubbing from a computer:
- Accede to YouTube Studio and log in with your account.
- Click on Configuration.
- Go to Default upload settings.
- Within this section, select Advanced settings.
- Uncheck the box that indicates Allow automatic dubbing.
- Save the changes by clicking Save.
Once disabled, your future videos will no longer have automatically dubbed audio tracks. If at any time you wish to activate this feature again, you can repeat the steps above and check the option again.
How to manage dubbing in specific videos?
If you want more control and don't want to completely eliminate automatic dubbing, YouTube offers the option to manually review and approve tracks before they're published.
To check the dubbing manually during upload:
- Access YouTube Studio from a computer.
- Click on Create and then Upload videos.
- Select the file you will upload to the channel.
- Click on Show more, which is located further down the screen.
- In the automatic dubbing section, activate the option Manually review dubbing before publishing.
- Complete the video upload as you normally would.
Thus, You will be able to listen to and validate the dubbings before they become available to users.
How do I preview or remove dubbing from previously published videos?
You can also make adjustments to dubbing videos already available on your channel.
To preview the dubbing:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio from your computer.
- Click on the section Content and select the video you want to manage.
- In the part of Languages, select the existing language.
- Below the player, in the menu preview, choose the desired language.
- Play the video to see how the dubbing sounds in that language.
If you decide you don't want to publish that dub:
- Hover over the corresponding language in the “Audio” column.
- Click on the available icon (three dots or options).
- Choose Stop posting.
You can also delete it completely if you wish. Once deleted, It will no longer be available to the audience and cannot be automatically republished..
How to disable dubbing from the viewer's point of view?
Although YouTube allows you to change the audio track on some videos, This is not yet available on all platforms or devices.For now, it's more accessible from the desktop version.
To change the audio track on your computer:
- Open the video in question.
- Click the settings gear inside the player.
- Look for the option Audio track and select the original language.
On mobiles, such as Android o iOS, the option is not always displayed. Some users report that neither the official app nor browsers like Firefox offer the option to change the language.This has generated quite a bit of frustration among the community.
Furthermore, It seems that YouTube is implementing this feature gradually., so not all channels, videos, or devices will display it the same way.
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