Transcripts, Summaries, and Closed Captioning FAQ

We believe in the power of video-first communication for all your relationships. Seeing faces, hearing tone of voice, being in the moment when you have a moment – that’s real connection. We also know you can fall behind, sometimes multiple Polos behind, especially in your most active chats and groups.

Our suite of new features are designed to help you stay active in your important conversations. They can help you catch up when you fall behind; they can help you watch in noisy places or when you don’t have your headphones; they can help you look back at what was said so you don’t forget the important stuff. We build technology that helps you feel close because that’s our purpose ❤️

If core Marco Polo is all you need to feel close to your people, we love that! But, if you’ve ever fallen behind and don’t know how to catch up, now you can.

1. What are the new features? 

The new AI features are closed captions, transcripts, and summaries. Marco Polo uses AI software to process closed captions and summaries internally. We use a third party to process summaries. A summary is requested when you click the new icon on the home screen. 

By clicking that icon, you can access a summary of the Polo, as well as other chat options. Importantly, to generate summaries, our AI service provider receives transcription text files, and not Polo video or audio.

We take all technology partnerships very seriously to ensure our privacy standards are upheld and the data of our users is protected. You can read more about our service providers here ✨

2. Are my Polos still private?

First and foremost, our respect for your privacy has not changed. Just like your Polos, all transcripts, closed captions, and summaries are private. These features are generated by AI language processing algorithms. And, none of your data is used to train or improve the AI models.  For more information regarding the privacy of your data, you can read our privacy policy ✨ 

3. How can I access these features?

Users who have access to these features can simply open a chat and tap on a Polo in the storyline. The features are located at the bottom of each Polo. 

  • Closed captions: tap “CC” on the left side of the bar.
  • Transcripts: tap “Transcript” at the bottom-center of the screen. 
  • Summaries: You can access the summary feature, as well as other chat options, by tapping the new icon on the home screen. 

By tapping that icon, you can also access the transcript, see the length of the Polo, mute the Polo, and mark the Polo as watched. The mute button is in the upper-right corner of the screen, and is a global setting that will mute or unmute all Polos. 

From the options view, you can also mute the Polo, access the transcript, and mark as watched. 


New icon on your home screen👇

Note: If a Polo is short, there won’t be a summary provided. You will only see the transcript for that Polo.

4. Are these paid features?

Closed captioning is free and available to all accounts. Transcripts and summaries are paid features, included in Plus and Plus Family. Free users will have limited access to transcripts and summaries to try out the features. All Polos are transcribed unless you opt out of the AI features (see below on how to opt-out). Additionally, the new mute function (which is not an AI feature) has also been made available to all accounts.

5. Can I opt out of these features?

 Yes, you have the ability to opt in or opt out of transcription services within your app! To do this:

  1. Navigate into Marco Polo Settings (gear icon on the bottom right of your Home Screen)
  2. Tap Privacy
  3. Toggle Disable transcription services

If you choose to opt out, your Polos will not be processed through AI language algorithms to create closed captions, transcripts, or summaries, and you will not receive closed captions, transcripts, or summaries of Polos sent to you.

6. How can I turn off the push notifications with transcripts?

If you have the AI Polo features on your app, you will receive previews of your transcripts from the app as push notifications.

If you wish to turn off these push notifications, you can do so by navigating to Settings > Notifications > AI Transcripts and toggling off Push Notifications. Turning off transcript push notifications will not disable the transcript and summary feature.


Have any other questions relating to these features? We're happy to help! Please tap here✨ to contact our Support Team 🙂