Instagram Accessibility

Making your Instagram posts accessible ensures that people with disabilities can engage with and enjoy your content. Adding alt text and captions not only makes your posts more accessible but also improves clarity and reach for all users. See Social Media Accessibility for more information on general guidelines for social media.

Note: Instagram updates its features often, so these steps may vary slightly over time.

Alt Text

Alternative text (alt text) is a concise description that communicates the content and function of an image. Screen readers use alt text to convey this information to users who cannot see the image. See our Image Accessibility page for tips on writing effective descriptions.

How to add alt text to Instagram:

  1. Begin creating your post and upload your photo(s).
    Screenshot on the first half of adding alt text to an Instagram post with three side by side screenshots. The first screenshot shows the Instagram home feed screen with a red arrow pointing to the plus sign icon to add a new post. The second screenshot shows the image select screen with a red box over the Next button at the top right corner. The third screenshot shows the second screen when posting an image with options to add audio, text, over, filters, and to edit the image. A red box outlines the Next button at the bottom right corner of the screen.
  2. On the page where you can write a caption, scroll to the bottom and tap More options.
  3. Scroll to the bottom and select Write Alt Text.
  4. Add your alt text and select Done.
  5. Post!
    Screenshot of the second half of adding alt text to an Instagram post with three side by side screenshots. The first screenshot shows the third screen of the post options with a red box over the More Options button at the bottom of the screen. The second screenshot shows the More Options screen with a red box over the Write Alt Text button at the bottom of the screen. The third screenshot shows the Alt text editor screen with a red arrow, numbered 1, pointing to the alt text text field and a second arrow, numbered 2, pointing to the Done button at the top right corner of the screen.
 

Video Captioning

It’s important to always add captions to videos. Captions not only help people with disabilities, but many other users rely on them too. See Caption Quality Standards for tips on writing effective captions.

Instagram Stories

  1. Create a story using the + icon.
  2. Upload or record your video.
  3. Select the sticker icon at the top of the screen.
    Instagram’s editing toolbar showing several circular icons, including sound, text, stickers, music, and effects. The stickers icon, outlined in red, is highlighted.
  4. Select the Captions sticker. Note: this may appear in a different order in the list.
    Instagram’s sticker options menu showing choices like Location, Music, GIF, Poll, and more. The “Captions” sticker option is outlined in red.
  5. Review auto-generated captions (they may be inaccurate).
  6. Tap any words to edit mistakes.
  7. Adjust the size and placement of captions (make sure nothing will cover them).
  8. Post your Story!

Instagram Reels

  1. Create a reel using the + icon.
  2. Upload or record your video.
  3. On the editing screen, tap the Closed Captions button.
  4. Review auto-generated captions (they may be inaccurate).
  5. Tap any words to edit mistakes.
  6. Adjust the captions to the appropriate size and position on the screen. 
  7. Adjust the size and placement of captions (make sure nothing will cover them).
  8. Post your Reel!
Four screenshots side by side showing how to post an Instagram reel with closed captions added. The first screenshot shows the video options after selecting a video from your device or recording with a red box over the closed captions button towards the bottom right side of the screen. The second screenshot shows the caption edit screen where a box, numbered 1, is over the caption text, lower down the device keyboard is open to edit the caption text. A second box labeled 2 is overlaid the caption styling options located above the keyboard in the middle of the screen. The third screenshot shows the edit video screen again but this time with a red box over the Next button at the bottom right corner of the screen. The fourth screenshot shows the caption timing edit screen with a red boxed labeled 1 over one caption block showing to drag the caption left or right on the timeline to adjust the timing. A second red box labeled 2 is overlaid the Done button located at the top right corner of the page.

Additional Resources