YouTube removes custom subtitles that VTubers and Hololive love to use

by

I’m hearing that YouTube has started removing the subtitles people created for videos, and a lot of fans are really upset about it. It’s frustrating because those custom subtitles were super helpful!

Because YouTube is used worldwide, many video creators are adding subtitles and dubbing to reach viewers in different countries. Some have even created separate YouTube channels specifically for these translated versions of their content.

YouTube automatically creates captions for videos in many languages, but these aren’t always perfect – they can sometimes mistranslate words or fall behind the speaker. Because of this, many video creators choose to add their own, custom-made subtitles.

I’ve been really enjoying these custom subtitles – they make translations so much better, and honestly, they’ve been adding a lot of fun to music videos from creators like those in Hololive and other VTubers. But it looks like the platform is starting to take them down now, which is a bummer.

YouTube is deleting custom subtitles 

A user on X, MayMei—a translation manager for MonochroMenace—reported that YouTube is gradually removing custom subtitles. They noted that this is affecting many creators, including large companies and popular groups like Hololive, and that people are losing subtitles they worked hard to create.

“@YouTube Please revert this, as more and more subtitles get removed, more people will speak up.”

Important news: YouTube is gradually removing custom subtitles. Many creators, including large companies and those in the Hololive community, are finding their subtitles have disappeared. We urge YouTube to fix this issue, as more and more subtitles are being lost, and more people are becoming concerned.

— maymei.cc 🍊 (@maymei_cc) January 17, 2026

A user on X pointed out that a music video from Hololive’s Matthew Hinson recently lost its subtitles. Hinson’s video, which had 11 million views, losing subtitles seems to confirm that the issue isn’t a technical error, but rather a deliberate, unannounced change being implemented. The user posted that this confirms a planned crackdown, not a bug.

Hinson explained that SRV3 is an undocumented and relatively unknown feature, but it’s become popular with creators like those at Hololive and Tom Scott.

Uploading SRV3 subtitles got broken/disabled. Please restore it.
byu/MatthewHinson inyoutube

He expressed concern that losing this particular format would be a real loss. While acknowledging it wasn’t officially supported or intended for public use, and that creators could technically switch to a standard format, he felt it offered something unique that couldn’t be easily replaced.

It remains to be seen if YouTube will revert the change of the clampdown will only widen.

Read More

2026-01-19 16:19