AM311 – Instagram Accessibility

Hey there! Welcome to Accessibility Minute, your weekly look at Assistive Technology, those clever tools and devices designed to help people who have difficulties with vision, mobility, hearing or other special needs!

More than 285 million people in the world have visual impairments.  The major social networking app, Instagram, has recently introduced two new improvements to make it easier for people with visual impairments to use Instagram.

First, they introduced automatic alternative text so users can hear descriptions of photos through their screen reader when they use Feed, Explore, and Profile. According to their website, “It uses object recognition technology to generate a description of photos for screen readers so you can hear a list of items that photos may contain as you browse the app.”

Secondly, they introduced custom alternative text so users can add a richer description of their photos when they upload a photo.  Individuals with visual impairments using screen readers will be able to hear this description.

Visit Instagram.com to learn more.

For more information, to read our blog, or to drop us a line, visit EasterSealsTech.com.  That was your Accessibility Minute for this week! I’m Laura Medcalf with the INDATA Project at Easterseals Crossroads, in Indiana.