Did you know Twitter has an option that lets you add a description to pictures, to help the visually-impaired? Well, now you do.
The accessibility option has been there for some time, but it’s nevertheless an important one. And, as Twitter user Rob Long pointed out, it’s easy to use.
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
This post points to an option in the accessibility menu, called “Compose image descriptions,” which allows you to “describe images for the visually impaired.” The option links to a Twitter support article which details how the image descriptions help and how they can best be implemented.
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When you upload an image to Twitter via iOS or Android, you have the option to add a short description to the pictures. When you do so, users who have voiceover turned on can hear the description read out along with the tweet.
Images aren’t as big a part of Twitter as they are of Instagram, for example, but they do play a large part of some posts and can provide crucial context that visually impaired users might miss. For example, this tweet doesn’t make sense unless you know the image is of my dog looking at me expectantly:
I don’t need a clock. This is how I know when it’s dinner time. pic.twitter.com/kQz1GjLWgo
— Rachel Kaser (@rachelkaser) January 4, 2018
Putting an appropriate description on this pic took me five extra seconds — in other words, I spent more time cropping my half-empty plate of Chinese takeaway out of this photo than I did adding a helpful caption to it.
h/t Rob Long
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