Short dramas and many online videos have their subtitles burned into the picture, so you can't switch them off. When you'd rather follow the story by ear, or practice listening to a language, the text keeps pulling your eyes away from the actors.

SubVeil is a simple subtitle blocker: it puts a small bar over those subtitles, on top of whichever video app you use. Place it once and it stays there.

What it does
• Drag the bar onto the subtitles; drag either end to resize it
• Press and hold to peek at a line, let go to cover it again
• Double-tap to fit: SubVeil finds the subtitle line, moves the bar onto it and, if you like, matches its colors to the picture around it. If nobody is talking at that moment, it waits up to 3 seconds for the next line
• Separate positions for portrait and landscape, switched automatically when you rotate
• Push the bar off the left or right edge to tuck it away while you use other apps; tap the tab to bring it back
• Three looks: soft edge, matte, and frosted glass (on phones that support blur)
• Colors: match the video, or pick a solid black, charcoal, navy or any custom color
• Quick Settings tile, plus Hide, Show and Stop buttons in the notification

Privacy
• No ads, no account, no data collected
• SubVeil only looks at the screen when you double-tap the bar or tap Fit in the notification, and Android asks for your permission every time. It reads a few seconds of the screen at most, works it out on your phone, then stops. Nothing is saved or uploaded.

Permissions
• Display over other apps: to show the bar on top of your video app
• Notifications: for the Hide, Show and Stop buttons while the bar is on

Good to know
• Taps outside the bar go straight to your video app.
• A few video apps hide windows that other apps draw on top of them. SubVeil can't cover subtitles in those apps.