Alt text

Alt-text (alternative text) is descriptive text that accompanies images to make them accessible to people who use screen readers or other assistive technologies. It’s essential for making your feed inclusive and accessible to visually impaired users.

Why alt-text matters

Alt-text serves several important purposes:

Accessibility: Screen readers can read alt-text aloud, allowing visually impaired users to understand what’s in an image
Inclusive content: Ensures your feed is accessible to everyone, regardless of their visual abilities
Better content quality: Encourages users to provide meaningful descriptions of their images
Search functionality: Alt-text is included when searching for posts, making content more discoverable

Requiring alt-text on images

You can configure your feed to only capture posts that include alt-text on their images:

Go to your feed’s settings
Find the “Alt-text on images” section
Select “Require alt-text on images”
Save your changes

When this setting is enabled:

Posts with images that have alt-text will be captured normally
Posts with images that lack alt-text will be automatically excluded from your feed
This ensures all images in your feed are accessible to screen reader users

How alt-text is used in filtering

Alt-text is automatically included when your feed searches for inclusion and exclusion terms. This means:

Inclusion terms: Your feed will capture posts where the alt-text contains your specified terms
Exclusion terms: Your feed will exclude posts where the alt-text contains your specified terms
Search functionality: When users search your feed, alt-text content is included in the search

For example, if you have a feed about “nature photography” and someone posts an image with alt-text “Beautiful sunset over the mountains”, your feed will capture it even if the main post text doesn’t mention nature.

Best practices for alt-text

When encouraging users to add alt-text to their images:

Be descriptive: Alt-text should describe what’s actually in the image, not just what the image is about
Be concise: Keep descriptions clear and to the point
Include important details: Mention colours, actions, emotions, or other relevant visual elements
Avoid redundancy: Don’t repeat information that’s already in the post text
Use proper grammar: Write in complete sentences with proper punctuation

Examples of good alt-text

Good: “A golden retriever puppy sitting in a field of yellow daisies, looking up at the camera with bright eyes”
Bad: “dog” or “cute puppy” or “image”
Good: “Three people hiking on a mountain trail, with snow-capped peaks in the background”
Bad: “hiking” or “mountain” or “outdoor activity”

Accessibility benefits

By requiring alt-text on images, you’re:

Making your feed accessible to users with visual impairments
Encouraging better content creation practices
Building a more inclusive community
Improving the overall quality of posts in your feed
Supporting users who rely on assistive technologies

This simple setting can make a significant difference in making your feed welcoming and accessible to all users.