Here's how to make your Twitter images more accessible for visually impaired
[photo by: Twitter]
Twitter is a platform used to share everything from memes to our thoughts on important topics, but for users who are visually impaired, not all posts are so easily accessible. Luckily, there's a ridiculously easy fix that allows users with visual impairments to see the images in their feed.
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Twitter user Rob Long pointed out in a now-viral tweet that Twitter offers a feature that lets the user to caption their images, allowing them to be described in detail for those who are visually impaired and use a screen reader.
I’m a blind twitter user. There are a lot of us out there. Increase your ability to reach us and help us interact with your pictures, it’s really simple and makes a huge difference to our twitter experiance allowing us to see your images our way. Thanks for the description �� pic.twitter.com/hCsjoFdmev
— Rob Long (@_Red_Long) January 3, 2018
Twitter does NOT enable the featuer automatically, so you have to go in and manually turn it on. No worries, it's super easy.
1. Open 'Settings and Privacy'
2. Scroll down to 'Accessibility'
3. Check the box that says 'Compose image descriptions'
That's it! But how do you use the feature? Ashley Bischoff, a copy editor who has written about the importance of image descriptions, gives a lot of helpful tips on her website including: “Think of writing alt text for an image as if you’re describing the image to someone over the phone.”
The captions allow the user posting the image to describe the picture in detail so those that are using a screen reader can get an idea of what's going on in the image. Rob Long followed up on his original post with a video showing how the Twitter feature helps users who are visually impaired.
This is how captioning works and why it’s important. Would really appreciate people spreading the word and creating a more accessible twitter for blind users. Thanks �� pic.twitter.com/LMntCuEOqy
— Rob Long (@_Red_Long) January 3, 2018
According to Twitter's help page, image descriptions can be up to 420 characters long and the text will only be visible to those using screen readers or braille displays.
Bischoff also offers perfect examples via her website on how users can caption their images. Take this image for example:
My sister proposed to her GF today and look at that older woman's reaction pic.twitter.com/ifFl3mJNAr
— Carlos Shook (@AreYouShook) December 18, 2016
The suggested description from Bischoff: “Two women stand in a museum, surrounded by sculptures. As one woman proposes to the other, placing a ring on the other woman's finger, an older woman who is sitting nearby looks on with an expression of sheer joy.”
Basically, the more detail the better.
This feature has been available on Twitter for two years now, and we can't help but wonder why such a fantastic feature is not enabled automatically? It may take you slightly longer to compose a tweet, but it's obviously worth the extra effort.
What are your thoughts on this Twitter feature? Do you think it should be enabled automatically? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.