How to make images accessible for people
When you Tweet photos using the Twitter app for iOS or Android, or on twitter.com, you have the option to compose a description of the images so the content is accessible to people who are visually impaired.
This article includes information about how to enable the Compose image descriptions setting and instructions for composing image descriptions using:
Using VoiceOver for Mac with twitter.com
How to enable the composition of image descriptions from twitter.com
- Navigate to Settings and privacy by pressing the “g” key quickly, followed by the “s” key.
- Press the “control + option + u” keys together to bring up the Web Rotor.
- Press the right arrow key to select Links in the Web Rotor.
- Use the down arrow key to find the item Accessibility and press the “enter” key.
- Press “enter” to navigate to the Accessibility settings.
- Press the “control + option + u” keys together to bring up the Web Rotor.
- Press the right arrow key to select Form controls in the Web Rotor.
- Use the down arrow key to find Compose image descriptions and press the “enter” key.
- Use the spacebar to turn the setting on or off.
- Press the “control + option + u” keys to bring up the Web Rotor
- Use the down arrow key to find Save changes and press the “enter” key.
How to add image descriptions in Tweets from twitter.com
- Open the Tweet composer using the keyboard shortcut (press the “n” key).
- Use the “tab” key to navigate to the Add photos or video button and press “enter”.
- Use the file system dialog to choose the image to add.
- In the composer, find the image you've added using the “tab” key. The image will be labeled according to the order in which it was added (e.g. "Image 1")
- To insert descriptive text, open the thumbnail preview dialog by pressing the “enter” key while focused on the image.
- Type your description of the image. (The limit is 420 characters.)
- Find the Apply button by pressing the “tab” key and press “enter”, or just press “enter” while holding down the “command” key.
- To edit the description, re-open the thumbnail preview dialog prior to posting the Tweet.
Using the JAWS for Windows screen reader with twitter.com
How to enable the composition of image descriptions from twitter.com
- Press the “insert” and “3” keys together to temporarily bypass JAWS' virtual navigation.
- After you hear Enter key to pass through, navigate to Settings using the keyboard. shortcut (press the “g” key, quickly followed by the “s” key).
- Press the “insert” and “F7” keys to bring up the list of links for the page.
- Use the down arrow key to find the item Accessibility and press the “enter” key.
- Press the “f” key to find the item Compose image descriptions.
- Use the spacebar to turn the setting on or off.
- Press the “f” key to find the Save changes button and press the “enter” key.
How to add image descriptions in Tweets from twitter.com
- Press the “insert” and “3” keys together to temporarily bypass JAWS' virtual navigation.
- Open the Tweet composer using the keyboard shortcut (press the “n” key).
- Use the “tab” key to navigate to the Add photos or video button and press “enter”.
- Use the file system dialog to choose the image to add.
- In the composer, find the image you've added using the “tab” key. The image will be labeled according to the order in which it was added (e.g. "Image 1").
- To insert descriptive text, open the thumbnail preview dialog by pressing the “enter” key while focused on the image.
- Type your description of the image. (The limit is 420 characters.)
- Find the Apply button by pressing the “tab” key and press “enter”, or just press “enter” while holding down the “control” key.
- To edit the description, re-open the thumbnail preview dialog prior to posting the Tweet.
Using the NVDA screen reader for Windows with twitter.com
How to enable the composition of image descriptions from twitter.com
- Press “insert” and “space” keys together to enter forms mode.
- Navigate to Settings and privacy by pressing the “g” key quickly, followed by the “s” key.
- Press “insert” and “space” keys together to exit forms mode.
- Press the “insert” and “F7” together keys to bring up the list of links for the page.
- Use the down arrow key to find the item Accessibility and press the “enter” key.
- Press the “f” key to find the item Compose image descriptions.
- Use the “spacebar” to turn the setting on or off.
- Press the “f” key to find the Save changes button and press the “enter” key.
How to add image descriptions in Tweets from twitter.com
- Press “insert” and Space keys together to enter forms mode
- Open the Tweet composer using the keyboard shortcut (press the n key).
- Use the “tab” key to navigate to the Add photos or video button and press “enter”.
- Use the file system dialog to choose the image to add.
- In the composer, find the image you've added using the “tab” key. The image will be labeled according to the order in which it was added (e.g. "Image 1").
- To insert descriptive text, open the thumbnail preview dialog by pressing the “enter” key while focused on the image.
- Type your description of the image. (The limit is 420 characters.)
- Find the Apply button by pressing the “tab” key and press “enter”, or just press “enter” while holding down the “control” key.
- To edit the description, re-open the thumbnail preview dialog prior to posting the Tweet.
Note: Once posted, the description applied to the image won't be visible but visually impaired people will have access to the description via their assistive technology (e.g., screen readers and braille displays).