Twitter finally opens up platform to the visually impaired

Default avatar.
March 30, 2016
Twitter finally opens up platform to the visually impaired.
Not all developers and tech services consider the visually impaired when rolling out their latest designs and updates, so it’s refreshing when one finally does. Twitter, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, just made its interface friendlier to the blind and those with vision impairment. Yesterday, Twitter announced on its blog that it’s making its images accessible for everyone. The motivation for the decision seems to be the company’s philosophy that pictures are at the core of its micro-blogging experience. So if those with sight can partake in this experience, why shouldn’t an effort be made to include the visually impaired? All users now have the option of adding descriptions to the images that they share. Users who enable this new feature have the chance to write a short caption with every image. Interestingly, the character limit for these new captions is 420 characters, which is significantly longer than Twitter’s current limit for its tweet text. This redesign of the images interface is only available for iOS and Android platforms, however; no word yet on whether this feature will eventually roll out to Twitter desktop versions. People interested in using alt text only have to go to the app’s accessibility settings. Once there, they can enable this new feature by selecting the compose image descriptions options from within the menu. After users have enabled it, they will start seeing an “add description” button next to every thumbnail in the composer when they want to tweet an image. They can tap the button to add the short caption. Users who are visually impaired can “see” the description thanks to their assistive technology such as screen readers or braille devices. For thorough and more detailed instructions on how users can enable this “add descriptions” feature on their iOS or Android devices, see this walkthrough. As a bonus, Twitter has extended its platform products to both the REST API as well as Twitter Cards. This is part of an effort to make sure that publishers and third-party clients have the chance to add descriptions to their images. This is very relevant to specific Twitter clients that already cater to the visually impaired. Examples include:
  • TheQube – A social networking client written mainly for the blind and other visually impaired users
  • Chicken Nugget – A Windows Twitter client that makes all parts of Twitter accessible to blind people due to its efficient screen-readers feature
  • EasyChirp – A web-accessible alternative to the Twitter site for the visually impaired.
While Twitter’s design update is commendable for its altruistic vision of making the platform accessible to everyone, it’s only ever going to be successful if those posting images make use of it.

Marc Schenker

Marc’s a copywriter who covers design news for Web Designer Depot. Find out more about him at thegloriouscompanyltd.com.

Read Next

10+ Best Resources & Tools for Web Designers (2024 update)

Is searching for the best web design tools to suit your needs akin to having a recurring bad dream? Does each…

3 Essential Design Trends, April 2024

Ready to jump into some amazing new design ideas for Spring? Our roundup has everything from UX to color trends…

How to Plan Your First Successful Website

Planning a new website can be exciting and — if you’re anything like me — a little daunting. Whether you’re an…

15 Best New Fonts, March 2024

Welcome to March’s edition of our roundup of the best new fonts for designers. This month’s compilation includes…

LimeWire Developer APIs Herald a New Era of AI Integration

Generative AI is a fascinating technology. Far from the design killer some people feared, it is an empowering and…

20 Best New Websites, March 2024

Welcome to our pick of sites for March. This month’s collection tends towards the simple and clean, which goes to show…

Exciting New Tools for Designers, March 2024

The fast-paced world of design never stops turning, and staying ahead of the curve is essential for creatives. As…

Web Tech Trends to Watch in 2024 and Beyond

It hardly seems possible given the radical transformations we’ve seen over the last few decades, but the web design…

6 Best AI Productivity Apps in 2024

There’s no escaping it: if you want to be successful, you need to be productive. The more you work, the more you…

3 Essential Design Trends, February 2024

From atypical typefaces to neutral colors to unusual user patterns, there are plenty of new website design trends to…

Surviving the Leap from College to Real-World Design

So, you’ve finished college and are ready to showcase your design skills to the world. This is a pivotal moment that…

20 Mind-Bending Illusions That Will Make You Question Reality

Mind-bending videos. Divisive Images. Eye-straining visuals. This list of optical illusions has it all. Join us as we…