TikTok’s Text-to-Speech is both a great accessibility feature for people with visual and reading impairments and a tool to create enjoyable content. While Text-to-Speech is available on devices like tablets or phones via the operating system, it’s relatively forward-thinking for a social app like TikTok to make it available within the app. Other platforms like Twitter and Facebook don’t make use of this feature. Instagram does auto-caption stories but only if someone is already speaking in the video. 

The feature doesn’t come without controversy, however. TikTok changed the original voice after the actor filed a lawsuit claiming she had never agreed to be featured in the app. The new voice is less of a monotone than the original and seems to be just as popular. Creators use it to narrate their videos, as an accessibility tool, and to have a little fun by seeing what words the bot can (or cannot) pronounce.  

If this is something you’re interested in, here’s how to set it up:  

• Record your video.
• When you’ve finished recording, press the Text button at the bottom of the screen.
• Type what you want to say and press elsewhere on the screen to finish the text.
• Press and hold the text you just typed out.
• Select “Text-to-Speech.” 

Here’s an example of what TikTok’s Text-to-Speech feature sounds like: