Over the last month, Twitter has been working on ways to improve the image description, also known as alternative (alt) text, experience on the platform.
After gathering feedback from the 3% of users who had access to a limited release of the feature, Twitter has now expanded the ALT badge and exposed image descriptions worldwide.
“Adding image descriptions allows people who are blind, have low vision, use assistive tech, live in low-bandwidth areas, or have a cognitive disability, to fully contribute on Twitter,” the platform previously posted on their Twitter Accessibility account.
Images with an image description will show a black rectangle with white letters spelling “ALT.” To view the description, users should click on the ALT badge. They can close the box by clicking the “Dismiss button”, using the escape key, or clicking any spot outside of the box.
To add an image description to a Tweet, select “Add description” after uploading an image. Next, enter a description of the image in the text box. Use as much detail as possible. After selecting “Save,” the ALT badge will show in the corner of the image.
Social media platforms have been slow to improve upon their accessibility efforts for users, but many have made stronger commitments over the last year.
In December, Twitter added automatic video captions, while Instagram introduced auto-generated captions to feed video posts in early March.
As promised, the ALT badge and exposed image descriptions go global today.
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
— A11y (@XA11y) April 7, 2022