How do I fix the 'Looking for captions' bug in Photos app on macOS Sequoia?

Since the launch of Mac OS Sequoia (yes, so this issue has been around consistently for years) there has been this extremely annoying bug in the photos app where the captions get mangled as you are typing them, occasionally replaced with the phrase "Looking for captions...". This sounds really weird, but I swear it's been a recurring issue that's never gonee away no matter what software updates or restarts I do.

I can demonstrate. In the video, I am typing the phrase "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." See this video: ***.

[Edited by Moderator]

Original Title: Photos captions bug mac

Posted on Oct 16, 2026 6:33 PM

1 reply

OldToad

Level 4 (1,299 points)

Oct 18, 2026 12:00 PM in response to DrYeet

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac? If so do the following:

Please download and run Etrecheck. The free version is sufficient. However, if you find it worthwhile you should support the developer and purchase the app.

Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Copy the report

and after clicking on the Reply button use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine the cause of the problem.