What is alt text?

Alt text is a short written description of an image that screen readers read aloud, helping people who are blind or have low vision understand the picture.

Alt text makes your posts accessible to more people. Without it, someone using a screen reader may only hear "image" and miss the point of your post. It also gives networks and search engines extra context about what your image shows.

Many networks, including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Bluesky and Pinterest, let you add custom alt text when you upload a photo, usually under an accessibility or advanced setting. Some create automatic descriptions, but these are often vague or wrong, so writing your own is better.

Describe what matters in the image in a sentence or two, as if explaining it to someone over the phone. Include any important text that appears in the image. Skip phrases like "image of" and avoid stuffing in keywords or hashtags, since that makes the description harder to follow.

Example

A florist adds alt text reading "A bouquet of pink peonies and white roses wrapped in brown paper on a wooden table" to its product photo.