Twitter has stated that it is experimenting with new usability tools, making alt text descriptions much more valuable and visible for everybody on the network.
On Thursday, Twitter came up with the news of ALT tag and updated picture captions that are now available to users across the world. This is going to make ALT tags and explanations more visible.
As far as the functionality is concerned, it works really simply. When a Twitter user uploads an image that contains a caption or any kind of explanation, that tweet will receive an ALT tag, which when clicked will open up the description. Changes to Twitter were initially revealed in the previous month.
According to a tweet from Twitter's Accessible handle, "the ALT tag and displayed picture captions become universal today, as predicted." They addressed errors and obtained comments from the restricted release group during the last month.
Twitter added a detailed step wise guidance regarding insertion of ALT tag in a blog post.
To access the description regarding the image, a person has to tap on the badge. Prior to the release day, most users did not have access to an ALT badge if they keep the screen reader open. Image descriptions were originally offered by Twitter in 2016, however it may be difficult to figure out where and how to add them.
Till the end of 2020, Twitter lacked a specific accessibility team, instead, employees who tried to assist with usability concerns volunteered their time.
As per Twitter, the ALT caption will make it easier for people who cannot see, have impaired eyesight, have cognitive disabilities, use assistive technology, or reside in low-bandwidth locations to take part in the system. Just like the team mentioned, the ALT badge and visible image captions rollout globally, Twitter's Accessibility account announced in a tweet on April 8th.
Read next: Twitter's Latest Update Blanks Out Deleted Embedded Tweets, Here's Why That's a Problem
On Thursday, Twitter came up with the news of ALT tag and updated picture captions that are now available to users across the world. This is going to make ALT tags and explanations more visible.
As far as the functionality is concerned, it works really simply. When a Twitter user uploads an image that contains a caption or any kind of explanation, that tweet will receive an ALT tag, which when clicked will open up the description. Changes to Twitter were initially revealed in the previous month.
According to a tweet from Twitter's Accessible handle, "the ALT tag and displayed picture captions become universal today, as predicted." They addressed errors and obtained comments from the restricted release group during the last month.
Twitter added a detailed step wise guidance regarding insertion of ALT tag in a blog post.
To access the description regarding the image, a person has to tap on the badge. Prior to the release day, most users did not have access to an ALT badge if they keep the screen reader open. Image descriptions were originally offered by Twitter in 2016, however it may be difficult to figure out where and how to add them.
Till the end of 2020, Twitter lacked a specific accessibility team, instead, employees who tried to assist with usability concerns volunteered their time.
As per Twitter, the ALT caption will make it easier for people who cannot see, have impaired eyesight, have cognitive disabilities, use assistive technology, or reside in low-bandwidth locations to take part in the system. Just like the team mentioned, the ALT badge and visible image captions rollout globally, Twitter's Accessibility account announced in a tweet on April 8th.
Read next: Twitter's Latest Update Blanks Out Deleted Embedded Tweets, Here's Why That's a Problem
