[blindLaw] Problem with accessing LinkedIn Alternative Text Description (Alt-Text) feature on the phone

[Abhishek Dhol]

Hi,

1. I received a very curious piece of information from a (sighted) fellow
LinkedIn user, who is committed to making her personal brand and content
accessible to the blind and visually impaired.
2. This user uses the LinkedIn app mainly on her phone to post content on
LinkedIn.
3. When attaching images with her posts, her custom has been to either (a)
use the built-in “alt-text” feature to embed a description of the image
within the image itself; or (b) sometimes just type a description of the
image in the body of her post, which even non-screen reader users (i.e.,
the sighted) can see.
4. Lately, she has found that she is unable to use the “alt-text” feature
of the LinkedIn phone app, but seems to be able to use it on LinkedIn when
using it on a laptop/desktop. This means that, if she wishes for her
content to remain accessible to the blind and visually impaired, her only
option is to insert a description into the body of the post’s text, which
the sighted can see, and which, of course, would be superfluous for them.
5. Does anybody know of any changes that LinkedIn has made recently to
their app which would make usage of “alt-text” harder?
6. If so, are any readers of this email aware of any
alternatives/workarounds?

Thanks in advance for any guidance or advice that you can provide.

Regards,

Abhishek Dhol