How to Export an SRT Subtitle File from Your iPhone
An .srt file is a plain text list of caption lines with a start and end time on each. It sits alongside your video rather than being painted onto it, which makes it editable, searchable, and reusable.
Whether you want one instead of burned-in captions comes down to where the video is going.
SRT or burned-in?
- TikTok, Reels, Shorts: burn them in. These feeds do not read subtitle files, so text that is not part of the picture will not appear.
- YouTube and Vimeo: upload the SRT. Viewers can toggle it, and the text is indexed for search — a real advantage burned-in captions cannot give you.
- Handing off to an editor: send the SRT. They can restyle and retime without transcribing anything from scratch.
- Accessibility compliance: SRT, usually. Screen readers and assistive tools can read a subtitle file; they cannot read pixels.
Getting the file off your phone
Caption the video
Open the project in Auto Captions and correct any misheard words first — the SRT carries exactly what is on screen.
Export as SRT
Choose the .srt export. It is free with no limit, separate from the video export.
Send it where it needs to go
Save to Files, AirDrop it to a Mac, or share it straight into another app. It is a small text file, so email works fine too.
Using it on the other side
In YouTube Studio, open the video, go to Subtitles, and upload the file with timing. In Premiere or DaVinci Resolve, import the .srt as a caption track and restyle it there. CapCut and most mobile editors can import subtitle files too.
If a platform rejects the file, it is nearly always an encoding issue — save as UTF-8 and re-upload.
