All notable changes to Transcribe Audio & Video to Text — 99+ Languages will be documented in this file.
2026-05-21 (later)
💎 YouTube / TikTok / Instagram URLs are now a PAID-tier feature
Platform URL Transcription is PAID — YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram links are unlocked on the PAID tier. The FREE tier continues to support direct media file URLs (MP3, WAV, MP4, MOV, M4A, OPUS, …) and uploaded files.
Clear FREE-Tier Rejection Message — FREE-tier users who paste a platform URL get an immediate, dataset-visible explanation and an upgrade path, with zero charges for the rejected URL.
No Wasted Calls — the gate runs before any platform extraction or transcription, so FREE-tier accounts can never accidentally trigger an upstream call against a YouTube/TikTok/Instagram URL.
💎 User Benefits
Transparent tier boundaries — FREE-tier users know up front what works and what requires an upgrade
PAID users get the full multi-platform experience: direct files + YouTube + TikTok + Instagram in one bulk run
No surprise charges for FREE-tier users who paste platform URLs
🎯 Use Cases
Marketing teams on the PAID tier transcribing trending TikToks, Instagram Reels, and YouTube videos for content research
Agencies running large-scale platform-URL transcription jobs without worrying about FREE-tier limits
2026-05-21
🚀 Paste YouTube, TikTok & Instagram Links — Transcribe Anything in One Run
Native YouTube Transcription — paste any YouTube URL into audioUrls and get a clean text transcript back, no manual download step
TikTok Transcription Built In — drop in a TikTok video URL and the actor extracts the audio and transcribes it for you
Instagram Reel & Post Transcription — paste Instagram Reel or post URLs alongside your other inputs; processed in the same bulk run
Source Platform Tracking — every dataset row now ships with a sourcePlatform field (direct · youtube · tiktok · instagram) for easy filtering and analytics
Resolved Media URL — new mediaUrl field exposes the underlying media stream that was transcribed, so you can audit exactly what the engine processed
Lower Latency on Direct Files — direct media URLs now transcribe faster end-to-end
Reworked FREE Tier — 1 URL/file per run, capped at ≤5 MB or ≤60 seconds, with a hard precheck before any transcription cost
💎 User Benefits
Skip the "download the file first" detour for YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram content
Run a single bulk job that mixes direct files, uploads, and platform URLs together
Audit exactly what was transcribed for every row, even when the input was a platform link
Never get surprise-charged on the FREE tier — over-cap files are rejected before transcription
🎯 Use Cases
Podcasters transcribing both the direct MP3 and the YouTube version of every episode in one run
Social-media editors turning trending TikToks and Reels into searchable text for content research
Journalists & researchers pulling clean transcripts from Instagram interviews and YouTube panel discussions
📝 Good to Know
For YouTube URLs, word-level timestamps and speaker labels are not available (captions-only routing). Use a direct file URL when you need per-word timing or diarization on YouTube content.
2026-04-27
📤 Direct File Upload + SRT/VTT Subtitles + Word-Level Timestamps
Upload Audio & Video Files Directly — drop media into the new audioFiles field straight from your computer; no need to host files first
Mix URLs and Uploads in One Run — pasted URLs and uploaded files are processed together with the same dedup, validation, and tier limits
SRT and VTT Subtitle Output — every successful transcription now ships with ready-to-use srt and vtt fields. Save as .srt / .vtt and drop into any video player or HTML5 <track> element
Word-Level Timestamps — segments[].words[] now exposes {word, start, end, speaker} for every spoken word. Build karaoke-style highlighting, precise quote search, or word-accurate clipping
Restructured README — new "How to transcribe", "Example output", "Speaker diarization", and "SRT / VTT subtitle export" sections lead the page so you can see what the actor does at a glance
Clearer Title & Description — rewritten to plainly describe what the tool does (transcribe video and audio to text, 99+ languages, speaker diarization, SRT/VTT export)
💎 User Benefits
Skip the "host the file somewhere first" detour — upload .m4a, .mp3, .mp4, etc. straight from your computer
Get subtitle files ready to publish without any post-processing
Build searchable, clip-accurate transcripts thanks to word-level timing
Mix URL inputs and direct uploads in a single bulk run
🎯 Use Cases
Podcasters publishing show notes alongside each new episode
Sales and ops teams archiving meeting recordings for coaching and QA
Journalists turning phone-recorded interviews into clean attributed transcripts
Video editors generating accurate caption tracks for long-form content
Students and educators transcribing lectures and study sessions
2026-04-07
🛡️ Smart URL Validation
Social Media URL Detection — Facebook, X/Twitter, and Vimeo links are automatically rejected with helpful redirect messages to platform-specific actors
File Type Validation — non-media file extensions (HTML, images, PDFs) are blocked before processing, saving runtime and credits
Actor Recommendations — users who paste social-media links get direct links to the correct SIÁN actor for their platform
Graceful Handling — invalid URLs are reported in the dataset with clear error messages; valid URLs in the same batch still get processed
Updated Input Schema — prominent warnings and valid/invalid URL examples directly in the Apify UI
2025-11-18
🔗 Smart URL Handling
Auto-URL Redirect — paste any audio URL format, the actor handles the rest
Zero URL Hassle — no more manual conversion to direct download links
Universal URL Support — works with raw URLs from major hosting providers
Seamless Experience — just paste and transcribe
2025-11-08
🎉 Transcribe Audio & Video to Text — Launch!
10× Parallel Processing — concurrent file handling (10 files simultaneously) on the paid tier
Zero-Delay Paid Tier — instant processing with no rate limiting
100+ Files/Hour Throughput — bulk batches that previously took 8+ hours now complete in ~1 hour
1 GB File Support on the paid tier — handle long-form audio and video without splitting
Unlimited Monthly Volume for the paid tier
SIÁN Agency Branding — professional store presence and consistent quality across the actor portfolio
💎 User Benefits
Run production-scale bulk transcription jobs in a fraction of the time
Transcribe long-form audio and video without splitting or pre-processing
Pay only for the audio seconds you actually transcribe — no subscriptions, no minimums
🎯 Use Cases
Podcast networks transcribing entire back catalogs in a single overnight job
Research teams turning hundreds of interview recordings into searchable text
Course creators auto-captioning their full video libraries for accessibility
