Renowned picture & video sharing platform, Instagram has reportedly announced that it has rolled out an object recognition feature on the smartphone application that would describe the contents of the photos to its visually impaired users.
Reports cite, the new accessibility feature would offer the platform’s visually impaired users two different options that would inform them what is happening inside the posts. One option reportedly uses the object recognition technology used by Facebook to carry out the heavy lifting while the other option would be leveraging user text inputs.
According to a press release, approximately 285 million individuals across the world are living with visual impairments, thus an Instagram that is more accessible could greatly benefit many people from the demographic.
Reportedly, the photo descriptions would surface for Instagram users that are utilizing screen readers. Moreover, the alternative user input text option would be provided inside the application’s advanced settings whenever someone is posting a photograph. An option that, according to some sources, is a little out-of-the-way yet is something that is inclusive.
Moreover, while there certainly is a level of depth that would only be able to come from a description written by the user, Instagram’s object recognition feature is expected to the primary factor that would be responsible for carrying out descriptions of the items which popup inside the user’s Instagram Feed, Profile as well as the Explore sections.
The company reportedly released a statement that affirmed its plan to introduce two new improvements which would make it easier for individuals with visual impairments to use the primarily visuals-based social networking platform.
Furthermore, additional Instagram accessibility features are expected to be released soon, in a move that the company expects would make the platform more inclusive and draw in more users.
According to reports, the feature has already been deployed and would be incorporated inside existing users’ applications through a new update.