Twitter announced at the end of August that they have improved their captioning system. There will now be a dedicated space for captions, where they are typically located. Their system now also accepts iOS device settings, which means your personal captions settings will be applied to any videos you view through Twitter. Lastly, you now have the ability to scroll back through captions in case you missed something or need to double check a word.
If you’re adding captions, you’ll still need a .SRT file. If you need a way to generate this file, there is a free program called CADET made available by the National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH. You can find it here: https://www.wgbh.org/foundation/what-we-do/ncam/cadet. It takes a bit of setup to make it work but once you’ve got it installed, it’s quite simple to use. Instructions for installation and use can be found here: http://ncamftp.wgbh.org/cadet/help/install.html. It can be run on Mac, Windows, or Linux.
To keep an eye on Twitter accessibility improvements, follow their A11y account! It can be found here: https://twitter.com/twittera11y?lang=en or log in and look for @TwitterA11y. The account also collects feedback on features and problems encountered, so it’s a good way to report issues you may be experiencing.
