Why Instagram Alt Text Still Matters in 2024
Most Instagram creators treat accessibility as a "nice-to-have" checkbox. That’s a mistake. When you skip manual alt text, you aren't just locking out three hundred million people with visual impairments; you're also leaving your content’s ranking to chance.
Instagram uses Automatic Alt Text (AAT)—an AI-driven object recognition system—to describe images for users who use screen readers like VoiceOver (iOS) or TalkBack (Android). The problem? It’s notoriously bad. It might see a "person standing outside" when you’ve actually posted a specific tutorial about sustainable gardening.
Writing your own alt text ensures that your message is conveyed exactly as intended, regardless of how someone consumes it. Plus, properly written alt text helps the Instagram algorithm categorize your content for the Explore page.
Instagram buries the alt text settings, which is why so many people forget to use them. Here is the workflow for every new post:
- Draft your post: Choose your image and apply your filters/edits.
- Navigate to the final screen: On the 'New Post' screen where you write your caption and tag people.
- Advanced Settings: Scroll to the very bottom and tap "Advanced Settings."
- Write Alt Text: Under the accessibility section, tap "Write Alt Text."
- Save: Enter your descriptions for each slide in a carousel and tap "Done."
If you want to add alt text to an older post, tap the three dots (⋮) on the top right of the post, hit "Edit," and then tap "Edit Alt Text" on the bottom right of the image.
The Anatomy of High-Quality Alt Text
Good alt text follows a specific hierarchy. You don't need to describe every pixel; you need to describe the point of the image.
1. The Subject
Start with the most important element. Is it a person? A product? A data visualization?
*Bad: "A photo."
*Good: "A flat-lay photograph of a ceramic mug and an open notebook."
2. The Context
Where is the subject? What are they doing? Give the reader a sense of space.
*Better: "A flat-lay photograph of a ceramic mug and a notebook on a dark wood desk, surrounded by autumn leaves."
3. The Text Overlays
Screen readers cannot read text that is flattened into an image (like a quote card or a listicle). If there is text in the image, you must transcribe it in the alt text.
6 Real Before & After Examples
Example 1: The Personal Brand Headshot
- Before (Auto-generated): "Photo of a person smiling."
- After (Manual): "Close-up headshot of a woman with short blonde hair wearing a blue blazer, smiling warmly against a blurred office background."
Example 2: The Infographic/Listicle
- Before (Auto-generated): "Text and graphics."
- After (Manual): "Graphic titled '3 Tips for Better Writing.' 1. Read your work out loud. 2. Cut 10% of your word count. 3. Use active verbs. The background is pastel green with simple star illustrations."
Example 3: The Product Showcase
- Before (Auto-generated): "Bottle on a table."
- After (Manual): "A 50ml bottle of Glow Serum sitting on a white marble pedestal. Water droplets are on the bottle to imply freshness and hydration."
Example 4: The Lifestyle Shot
- Before (Auto-generated): "Person in a field."
- After (Manual): "A wide-angle shot of a hiker standing on top of a mountain peak at sunset, looking out over a valley of clouds. The sky is orange and purple."
Example 5: The Event Photo
- Before (Auto-generated): "Group of people standing."
- After (Manual): "The BoldlyType team posing together in front of a blue neon sign that reads 'Write On.' Everyone is laughing and wearing matching black t-shirts."
Example 6: The Flat-Lay Scene
- Before (Auto-generated): "Computer and coffee."
- After (Manual): "Top-down view of a silver laptop, a half-empty espresso cup, and a pair of eyeglasses on a clean white desk. Minimalist aesthetic."
Advanced Tips for Growth and Inclusion
Use an Alt Text Formatter
If you find yourself writing long descriptions for carousels, it helps to draft them in a clean environment. Using our Instagram text formatter allows you to check your character counts and ensure your formatting doesn't get stripped by the app's interface before you paste it into the Advanced Settings.
Avoid the "Image of" Phrase
Screen readers automatically announce "Image of" or "Graphic of" before reading your text. Starting your alt text with "A photo of..." is redundant and wastes the user's time. Jump straight into the description.
SEO vs. Accessibility
Don't treat alt text like a keyword dump. While Instagram does use this metadata for SEO, stuffing it with "social media manager tips writing tools blog editor" makes the experience miserable for blind users. Incorporate one or two main keywords naturally within a human-readable sentence. If it doesn't sound like a real sentence, rewrite it.
Handling Carousels
For carousel posts, each image requires its own alt text. If you have a 10-slide educational deck, give each slide a brief summary. If the slides are purely text-based, the alt text should be a verbatim transcription of that text. If it is too long to fit, provide a summary and mention that the full text is available in the caption.
A Note on Screen Reader Behavior
Screen readers like VoiceOver treat alt text as a single block of information. They do not recognize line breaks well in these fields. Keep your alt text as a continuous paragraph. Also, avoid using emojis in alt text. A screen reader will read the full technical name of the emoji (e.g., "sparkles emoji" or "smiling face with heart-shaped eyes emoji"), which can break the flow of a descriptive sentence.
