What you need to know
- Twitter is rolling ALT text badging to everyone, globally.
- ALT text makes it easier for screen readers to understand what an image shows.
Twitter is making it easier to see which images have ALT text.
Twitter has made changes to make itself more accessible to those who are blind or have problems with their vision. The change means that images will now have an ALT badge when they have descriptive text attached, making it easier to discern which of them have been made more accessible. ALT text is important for screen readers, for example, so they can read the description of the image when people might not be able to see it.
While Twitter has been testing the change with a small percentage of users of late, the social network says that it is now being rolled out to everyone globally, giving more people than ever a better understanding of which images have ALT text. Twitter has also added exposed image descriptions, too.
Describing what's in your images benefits people who are blind, have low vision, use assistive technology, live in low-bandwidth areas, or want more context. Without descriptions, your readers won't know what your images contain, or why they're important. This missing information prevents people from engaging with your Tweet.
As promised, the ALT badge and exposed image descriptions go global today.
— Twitter Accessibility (@TwitterA11y) April 7, 2022
Over the past month, we fixed bugs and gathered feedback from the limited release group. We're ready. You're ready. Let's describe our images! Here's how: https://t.co/bkJmhRpZPg https://t.co/ep1ireBJGt
Twitter has also shared a new Help Center article that gives people more information on how to add ALT text to their images when using its service and apps.
The improvement is very much a welcome one and while even Twitter would likely admit that it isn't as accessible as it would like to be, this change is undoubtedly a move in the right direction.
0 comments:
Post a Comment