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Tips for sending texts that are easier to see for visually impaired people.
When one of my friends first started writing to me, they sent me several texts in all caps. When I asked if they knew their caps lock was on, they said they texted this way because they wanted to make sure their texts were in large print and that it would be easier to read in all caps.
While I'm sure there are people who find it easier to read texts in all letters, this is not the case for the majority of blind or visually impaired users, and this conversation made me realize that others may not be familiar with how to text with vision loss, or mistakenly thinking that blind or visually impaired users cannot text at all. Here are my tips for texting with low vision and texting with accessibility in mind.
How do you read texts with impaired vision?
I enabled large fonts on my phone so that all my text messages appear in the same font size and style as other text content. If I need to enlarge a text, I can use the pinch-to-zoom feature built into the Android Messages app, or use the Select to Speak or Read Aloud tools to enlarge a message to have it read aloud with 'text to pronounce'. While there are things people can do to make it easier for me to read texts, I can generally read anything sent to me without any special adjustments.
Blind users or those otherwise unable to read printed texts use screen reading tools such as TalkBack or VoiceOver to have texts and other application controls read aloud and can use typing or dictation to write messages. Braille input and wireless braille displays are another option for writing and reading text and are ideal for people who frequently use braille or are deafblind (double vision and hearing loss).
Related Links
- Visually impaired accessibility settings for Android phones
- Enable temporary accessibility settings for iPad
- Make any Android smartphone available for $8
- Accessibility settings I use in iPad OS and iOS 13
How text formatting can affect readability
Although I can read most of the texts I receive, there are some message formatting styles or ways of writing messages that can make it more difficult for me to read something. Some examples are:
- Texts with many spaces between letters (each letter is read aloud separately for screen reader users)
- Multiple punctuation marks in a row or punctuation marks randomly inserted into words
- ASCII drawings that may not be formatted correctly with a larger print size
- Exaggerated emoji - Five cake emojis read as "cake cake cake cake cake"
- Emoji inserted in the middle of words
- Special characters or artistic fonts that may be difficult to identify
- Added animations to texts when they are opened, ie. Having a confetti effect over a message bubble can make it difficult to read the message inside
Text formatting/structures that do not affect readability include:
- Sends a text in uppercase or lowercase letters
- Write a text with alternative input such as braille or dictation
- Send a text from a computer
- Use of abbreviations or emotions such as lol or 🙂
Related Links
- How to make ASCII/Emoji memes accessible to the visually impaired
- Digital accessibility and chronic pain
- My eight favorite free fonts for printing problems
Send texts with dictation
Several of my friends prefer to use dictation to send messages instead of typing on an on-screen keyboard or a physical keyboard. The accuracy of dictation and speech-to-text software has continued to improve over the years and will automatically capitalize words, but users may want to proofread messages before sending to ensure their text is correct spelled out.
If users want to add punctuation to a text message through dictation, users must explicitly indicate this. Here are some examples of what it would look like:
- “I have no idea where my backpack went”
- "Why are you asking me about my backpack question mark"
- “The last time I saw it was in the comma of my room, or maybe it was in my closet”
- “Oh, shoot exclamation point, I left my backpack in the exclamation point of my English class”
This is what these messages would look like if written:
- I have no idea where my backpack went.
- Why are you asking me about my backpack?
- The last time I saw him was in my room, or maybe he was in my closet
- Oh shoot! I left my backpack in my English class!
Related Links
- Learn to use dictation as an assistive technology for low vision
- How to make keyboards more visible
- Choose a backpack with poor visibility
A note about emoji
Screen readers and text-to-speech tools read the names of emoji aloud, but visually impaired users who don't use these tools may have difficulty identifying emoji because the images often contain intricate details or many emoji look alike. Although emoji can appear in the same font size as regular text, a technique I use to make it easier to identify certain emoji is to use two different skin color options for thumbs up/thumbs down, or to insert emoji with dictation by spelling out sentences speak like 'brain emoji'. I've linked a whole post about emoji below.
Related Links
- Emoji and visual impairment
Send photos/MMS messages
Currently, users cannot add alt text to images or other MMS content before it is sent. While there are several ways to get image descriptions on a smartphone, I recommend adding a short image description to the image so that the recipient can get information about what is in the image or search for it later in their/ her lyrics.
Related Links
- How to write alt text and image descriptions for the blind and visually impaired
- How to access images without alt text
What about sending GIFs?
Depending on the site where the gif is hosted, some gifs have alt text and provide information about visual content, although users cannot add alt text themselves. Sometimes I ask my friends to send me a description of the GIF they just sent me, while other times I can deduce what's going on based on the title of the link. But since I'm sensitive to strobes and flashing lights, I ask my friends to stop sending gifs with these effects and turn off autoplay.
Related Links
Photos/videos look blurry when sent via text
MMS messages, including photos and videos, are often sent with lower image quality compared to media sent via other media. Some of my favorite tips for improving post image/video quality are:
- For iOS devices, open the Messages menu in the Settings app and make sure low-quality picture mode is turned off
- Send larger files as a display link via apps such as iCloud, Google Photos or Microsoft OneDrive – this allows the recipient to download the content in full resolution
- If the devices are close together, use AirDrop, Bluetooth or NFC to send content wirelessly
- Instead of using text messages, you can send content via email or a third-party app like WhatsApp or Messenger.
Other tips for texting with low vision
- Messages that contain contact cards or location coordinates are compatible with assistive technology tools
- Enabling link previews makes it easier to open links sent via text
- To improve inbox organization, users can pin contacts/threads to the top of their inbox for quick access.
Af Veronica Lewis/Veronica with four eyes,www.veroniciica.com
Updated November 2023; original post published in August 2017.
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