When you watch a video on a social network, Facebook or Twitter for example, subtitles are activated automatically when the sound is muted. They disappear when you click on them and restore volume. This can no longer happen on Twitter!
A new “CC” button for video subtitles
The latest news is that Twitter’s board is considering an acquisition bid from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. But that hasn’t stopped the company from rolling out a number of new features in recent weeks, some fueled by popular user demand and others primarily focused on accessibility.
For example, the social network is testing a new “CC” button that will enable and disable subtitles on videos. Some users on iOS may already see this passing, which will be soon for Android users.
To see what it looks like, the button appears in the upper right-hand corner of a video attached to a Tweet, prompting you to toggle it off when you pause it, if you wish.
“Video subtitles or no subtitles, now on iOS and soon on Android it’s easier for some of you to choose. In videos that have subtitles available, we’re going to try the option to enable/disable subtitles with a new ‘CC’ button.” Testing. »
Always more reach on Twitter
Remember that last December, the application automatically generated subtitles on videos. The feature, available in over 30 languages on the web, iOS and Android, helps make video more accessible to deaf and hard of hearing users around the world.
Enabling video subtitles is a notable accessibility improvement. Earlier this month, Twitter improved its image descriptions to make text more clear for screen readers or those using text-to-speech programs. Images with alt text now have an “ALT” badge in the corner of the image. So when you hover over the badge you see a description of a user generated image.
We are often unaware that some of our social media posting habits can prevent users with disabilities from engaging in conversations and negatively impact the online experience. This feature is therefore a major step forward in accessibility for the benefit of visually impaired users, as it makes the presence of Alt Text more apparent.
Plus, it’s a great learning tool for anyone who wants to get better at writing alternative text.
Other features still under development
Meanwhile, work on Twitter’s edit button is still going on. Granted, the feature hasn’t been officially released yet, but according to a series of tweets posted recently by Jay Sullivan, head of product at Twitter, it’s likely to start testing at Twitter Blue Labs “in the coming months”. Will be done.
Screenshots published on April 16th provide a small preview of this new edit button.
- The context menu includes an “Edit Tweet” option;
- If you select “Edit Tweet”, an editing window appears for editing the Tweet;
- Once you’re done editing, you can select the “Update” button to post your updated Tweet.
These are just a few of the recent tests and updates on Twitter that are most likely to see the light of day.
What do you think of the new “CC” button specifically for video captions on Twitter?