A visible “ALT” badge and descriptions of exposed images are among the features Twitter is testing to improve accessibility to images on mobile and desktop.
In an announcement, Twitter said that it is testing the features with 3% of users across iOS, Android, and web browsers.
Twitter aims to launch these features globally at the beginning of April, after at least a month of testing.
Here’s more about the ALT badge, image descriptions, and how to add descriptive text to an image on Twitter.
ALT Badge on Twitter images
When adding a description, also referred to as alt text, to an image, a rectangular “ALT” badge will be displayed in the bottom corner.
This indicates to other users that there is descriptive text accompanying the image.
To view the image description, users can click or ALT-click the icon and the description will open, as shown in the example below:
Twitter says:
Adding image descriptions allows people who are blind, have low vision, use assistive technology, live in areas with low bandwidth, or have a cognitive disability to fully contribute to Twitter.
We know these features have been around for a long time, and we’re grateful for your patience. We are also working on remembering the description of the photo. We’ll share more about that soon. “
Here’s how to add an image description to a Tweet. Soon, Twitter may start reminding users to add descriptions to photos, but for now it has to be done manually.
How to add a photo description on twitter
To add a description to the image, follow these steps:
- Upload a photo
- Choose “Add a descriptionunder the photo
- Write a description
- Choose “Memorizes“
- Send a tweet
Your Tweet will be sent with the “ALT” badge on the image.
The description can be anything from one to a thousand characters long.
If you add multiple images to a Tweet, you can add unique descriptions for each of them.
This feature is still being tested so you may not be able to access it right now. A full launch is expected this spring.
Source: Twitter access
Featured image: A9 STUDIO / Shutterstock
