Twitter is Testing Pop-out Alt Text Badges

Many users have already noticed Google’s efforts towards improving accessibility across its apps and services. Other tech giants don’t seem to lag behind, though. For instance, Twitter is soon rolling out a new way to view ALT text for those with eyesight aids. Read on for details. 

ALT Text Improvements

Twitter says that it has received a lot of feedback related to image description improvement. As a result, the company launched a test of new accessibility features for 3% of the userbase. The features include exposed image descriptions and a public ALT badge. The testing period will last for around 30 days, so the global update will take place by mid-April. 

ALT text is a textual image description that’s usually included in the website’s HTML code. If you are using a computer, you can view ALT text by moving the cursor over the image. This makes web surfing more accessible to people who need assistance to perceive information from the internet. Besides, this option will become a new way to bypass Twitter’s 280-character post limit and include more detailed descriptions for the general public. 

After the update, all the images that feature ALT text will have n ALT badge on them to suggest users reveal fuller information. If you don’t need descriptions, you will be able to click “dismiss” to hide them. 

Coming Soon

ALT badges will become available for Twitter users globally by mid-April as the company needs to gather more feedback and fix bugs before rolling it out. What’s your opinion about the upcoming feature? Will it improve the user experience for people with disabilities and average users? What other accessibility features would you like to suggest to make Twitter more accessible? Share this announcement and reply to our questions in the comments.