CaptionCall is a phone captioning service that displays real-time text of what the other person is saying during a call, designed specifically for people with hearing loss. Launched in 2010 by Sorenson Communications, it works on both landline phones and mobile devices, and the service is provided at no cost to qualifying users through a federal fund.
How CaptionCall Works
When you make or receive a call through CaptionCall, the other person’s spoken words are converted into text and displayed on your screen as the conversation happens. The system uses a combination of automated speech recognition and live captioning agents who monitor and correct the text in real time. You still hear the caller’s voice through the phone as you normally would. The captions are an added layer so you can read along and catch anything you might otherwise miss.
On the home phone, captions appear on a large touchscreen display using what Sorenson calls SilkScroll technology, which smoothly rolls the text across the screen rather than displaying it in choppy blocks. The mobile app works similarly, displaying captions on your smartphone or iPad screen while you talk.
Equipment and Features
The CaptionCall home phone looks like a standard corded phone with a built-in touchscreen. It includes adjustable volume and frequency settings that can be tuned to your specific hearing profile, a speakerphone option, and audio processing designed to minimize voice distortion. There’s a built-in answering machine, and you can save transcripts of past conversations to look back at appointment times, directions, or other details you want to reference later.
The phone itself remains the property of Sorenson, which means the company handles ongoing support, service, and upgrades. You don’t purchase it outright.
For mobile use, the CaptionCall app is available for smartphones and iPads. It functions like a regular phone dialer with the addition of live captions. The mobile version also supports captioned voicemail, so you can read your messages instead of struggling to listen to them.
Who Qualifies
To use CaptionCall, you need to have hearing loss that makes captioned phone service necessary for effective communication. There is no specific decibel threshold you have to meet. A hearing care professional simply needs to certify, based on their judgment, that you need captions to use the phone. This makes the qualification process relatively straightforward for anyone who genuinely struggles to follow phone conversations.
Beyond the hearing loss certification, you need a standard home phone line and an internet connection for the home phone version, since the captioning data travels over the internet. The mobile app requires a data or Wi-Fi connection.
Why It’s Free to Users
CaptionCall is classified as an Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS), a type of telecommunications relay service regulated by the FCC. These services are funded entirely by the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service Fund, which collects mandatory contributions from phone carriers and internet phone (VoIP) providers based on a percentage of their annual revenue. CaptionCall and other IP CTS providers receive per-minute compensation from this fund to cover the cost of delivering the service. The result is that qualifying users pay nothing for the phone, the captions, or the service itself.
Setup and Installation
CaptionCall offers two ways to get started with the home phone. Their “Red Carpet Service” sends a technician to your home for in-person installation and hands-on training. If you’d rather set it up yourself, there’s a self-guided option with virtual trainer support over the phone or video. Both options are free.
Privacy Protections
Because live captioning agents can hear your conversations in real time, privacy is a significant concern. The FCC requires that relay service providers not disclose the content of calls or retain records of conversations beyond the duration of a call, with very limited exceptions.
Sorenson’s track record on this front has not been spotless. In July 2024, the FCC announced a $34.6 million settlement with CaptionCall and Sorenson over an investigation into the company’s unlawful retention of call content beyond the allowed window. As part of the settlement, the company was required to conduct a full data inventory, implement a formal data retention schedule, and invest in privacy-enhancing technologies. If you use the service, your conversations are protected by federal rules, and the enforcement action means the company is now under heightened scrutiny to follow them.