Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is building a “more dedicated group” to be in charge of accessibility issues on its platforms. Without a dedicated accessibility team, the company has been relying on employees who volunteer part of their time above their normal duties. The move comes after the social media giant launched its new audio tweet feature that allows iOS users to share recordings as audio tweets.
The New Feature Initially Had Issues With Accessibility
The initial version, however, came out without captions, which mean it was not accessible by everyone. The company admitted the flaw and attributed the same to a lack of proper attention to accessibility features.
The news feature was launched as a response to the numerous complaints from accessibility advocates and was first revealed by Twitter software engineer Andrew Hayward. Andrew added that the volunteer team has been on pay for their services and noted that the new time will dedicate part of their team to solving accessibility problems.
Twitter accused of not considering users with hearing problems
The microbloggin platform came under sharp criticism from accessibility advocates who accused it of not considering deaf users. Online platforms like Facebook and Twitter offer captions to allow those with hearing problems access and consume the content.
In blog pots, the company noted that it is launching the new feature to add a more human touch to the way people use Twitter by allowing them add their voice. The company noted that in many cases, the 280 characters are not enough, and conversations are lost in translations in many cases.
To record and their voice tweets, users will use a new waveform icon beside the camera icon and a red record button at the bottom of the screen. The new voice features will allow users to record and send audios of up to 140 seconds. Upon reaching the 140-second limit, a new thread of voice tweet is automatically created. According to an update on the company’s help page, the audio can only be added to original tweets, not rely and retweets.
