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. 

Lastly, TikTok will show all in-app text in bold font if that’s the setting you’ve enabled on your device. This can enhance readability for people who prefer bold fonts. 

The launch comes ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 15. TikTok’s other accessibility features include auto-generated captions on videos, dark mode and text-to-speech. Other tech companies like Apple have announced their own slate of accessibility updates this week, too.