Twitter Updates Alternative Text Descriptions with New On-Image Badge and Expandable Captions

Twitter is testing some upgrades to its image alt-text descriptions for vision-impaired customers, with a brand new ‘ALT’ badge being added to pictures the place various textual content descriptions can be found, and an expanded description window to make them extra accessible.

As you may see right here, the brand new possibility will put extra particular concentrate on alt-text information, with a mini-window opening up while you faucet the ‘ALT’ indicator, outlining the extra element.

For context, it’s doable to show Twitter’s alt-text descriptions in-stream now, however not in any devoted, stylized format.

The up to date show would make alt-text descriptions a lot simpler to make use of, and would seemingly enhance their worth to extra customers, whereas additionally enhancing normal accessibility.

Twitter’s supplied alt-text on photos since 2016, whereas it’s additionally been working to make it simpler for customers so as to add in textual content descriptions to enhance entry for all customers.

These upgrades have been a part of the platform’s broader accessibility efforts, which have additionally included auto captions on movies and improvements to in-app layouts and fonts, according to accessibility finest practices.

Upgraded alt-text will probably be one other welcome addition – although it’s solely in testing at this stage.

Twitter says that it’s launching the brand new options to three% of Twitter throughout Android, iOS, and Internet. Twitter will assess the outcomes of this preliminary take a look at pool, earlier than deciding on a broader roll-out of the replace, seemingly in April.