Twitch Announces Improvements To Make Content More Accessible To All

Source: Twitch

Twitch announced a number of accessibility initiatives to celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day. It shared recent improvements that have rolled out or are in the works to make Twitch content more accessible to all.

Here's a breakdown of them:

• Chat Badges that let viewers identify themselves as audio-only or video-only, making it easier for creators to recognize when a viewer can only view a limited channel experience.

• Modified chat functionality and skip links so that viewers with screen readers can easily participate in chats without having to read each message.

• Site updates to reduce the amount of tabs to be pressed and redundant links to ensure that the site is easier to navigate and that users can access relevant sections quickly and easily.

Twitch streamers already have access to closed captions for their streams and subtitles when playing games. These updates will further enhance accessibility by helping creators identify viewers who may need an adjusted experience, assist viewers in engaging and participating, and make it easier to navigate the Twitch site to find relevant sections in a shorter amount of time.

Over the last few years, social media platforms have made significant steps to enhance accessibility, including the launch of closed captions, audio descriptions for photos and videos, and ALT text.

Platforms will continue to roll out product features and tools to make their platforms even more accessible to people with visual or hearing impairments. In the meantime, brands and creators should make an effort to use the features and tools available today when sharing content. Marketers can, for instance, require content creators who work with them to utilize accessibility tools on the platforms they are posting sponsored content on. Besides being the right thing to do, it can help increase the reach and impact of the content, since people with disabilities can still consume it.