Twitter is experimenting with an accessibility-related feature that will allow users to add text descriptions to the images they upload.
Accessibility: Twitter is often taken apart
This is nothing new: Twitter is often criticized for its lack of resources in the area of reach. But that’s about to change. As the social network notes, users have been waiting for this new feature for some time.
Image details were introduced in 2016, but they haven’t been particularly prominent on the platform. In fact, it’s relatively easy to miss the button that lets you add one, which is partly due to the way Twitter has handled accessibility features in the past.
Before 2020, employees had to volunteer to work on it along with their normal job. There was no dedicated team to make Twitter easy to use for those who needed it most.
It won’t be until the end of 2020 that it sets up its own accessibility team, which has already made decent improvements in this area. For example, remember the automatic subtitle feature in videos.
Another good news: The Image Detail tool will be more visible and more accessible to users.
Finally some good news from Twitter
As Twitter itself states, this feature is for people with visual or intellectual disabilities. It will also be useful in places where high-speed internet is not available.
Twitter said the features are being introduced after receiving widespread feedback from users about improving image detailing on the platform to make it more accessible and user-friendly for people with disabilities.
The novelty consists in adding an optional description to the images through “alt” attribute : This is a natural encoding, although the input step by the tweeter requires more effort. Filling in this field will, in fact, highlight the “alt” tag to show that everything has been done to improve accessibility.
Note that the description must be entered by the user at the time of publication, and has not changed: the option to add “alt” text appears on the right screen Tweet As soon as you upload the image.
The feature is currently in a limited testing phase and will roll out globally in early April. new service starts under An experimental look at 3% of users on the web and on both Android and iOS. At the end of the trial period, a specific assessment will be made to understand how to further develop the project.
“We will continue to monitor for a few weeks to maintain quality, then by April we will reach 100% of all users for all platforms,” Twitter Accessibility said in a tweet.
Twitter also shared an article Tutorial on how to add image details. In it, he explains what the new features will look like for users who have access to them.
“If you are one of the 3 people who have access to the features, the Alt badge will appear on other users’ images with a description added. Select the Alt badge and the image description will open,” Twitter Accessibility said in a statement. Wrote in another tweet.
The minimum system requirements to access the new features are Android 9.3 and iOS 9.
These updates are part of the platform’s wider accessibility efforts, which also include automatic captions on videos and Layout and font improvements Accessibility in the app by following best practices.