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> The reason TikTok etc. have closed captions on is that audio is off by default. If you want people to listen to your words but audio is off, put it into closed captions.

I can't believe that whole dramatic article missed this very obvious reason.

It didn't. When I downloaded it the other week to see what all the hubbub was about (spoiler alert: I killed it with fire lol), audio was on by default and I had to change that setting. I'd wager that OP forgot that they set it themselves.

Still, it's probably a common setting, or it's common to have your system-wide audio disabled when watching videos in public.

I think it depends on whether your phone is on silent.

tiktok audio is not off by default. But it's right in the idea that some people will have the audio off, and cc means you can consume the content in either case.

TikTok’s audio is on by default