These New TikTok Features Aim to Make Text and Images More Accessible

TikTok is adding a batch of new accessibility features to make content more inclusive for people with visual and cognitive disabilities, the company said Wednesday. The updates aim to make alternative text easier to add and access, and to improve general text legibility. First, TikTok is testing a feature that uses AI to generate alternative text. Alt text is an image descriptor that can help blind or low-vision people who use a screen reader to better understand what's being shown in a photo. It can also be helpful to people who process information differently, or if an image doesn't load properly. Creators can add alt text when uploading photo posts or after publishing, but now AI can do that job, too. Secondly, people on TikTok can now go into the app's accessibility settings to increase color contrast. This will amplify the foreground color of text, icons and controls, which can be helpful to people with low vision or who are sensitive to low contrast. To increase color contrast ... Read full article.