Twitter is rolling out voice Tweets to more users on iOS. After facing backlash for not including accessibility features with voice Tweets, Twitter also promises to add transcriptions for voice Tweets as well.
Making Voice Tweets More Accessible
Twitter has been working to make the platform easier to use. Not only has it made Quote Tweets easier to find, but it's now expanding upon its voice Tweet feature.
Twitter started testing the new voice Tweet feature in June 2020. When the testing began, many users criticized Twitter for not including voice transcription for people with disabilities.
Twitter responded to the controversy in a post on the Twitter Blog. The platform noted that it has built accessibility teams to make Twitter more accommodating, and that it will roll out captions for audio and video in early 2021.
Now, Twitter plans on making transcriptions available for voice Tweets too. In a Tweet, Twitter stated that it's working to learn more "about how people use audio." To do this, Twitter is expanding the voice Tweet feature to more iOS users.
Transcription for audio and video is part of our larger plan to make Twitter accessible for everyone across all features, both existing and new.https://t.co/c9LTPiE003 (2/2)
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) September 29, 2020
Twitter also stated that adding transcription to audio and video goes along with its "plan to make Twitter accessible for everyone across all features, both, existing and new."
For now, audio Tweets are only available for select iOS users. When asked when this feature will reach Android users, Twitter said in a reply that it's shooting for 2021.
Audio Tweets let you record your voice for 140 seconds. If your recording goes over the time limit, it'll roll over into another Tweet. You can start recording by tapping the wavelength icon that appears when you compose a Tweet.
If you happen to see an audio Tweet on your timeline, simply tap the "play" symbol on the recording to start listening.
Voice Tweets Get a Larger Audience
There's no word on when voice Tweets will officially be out of the testing phase, or when exactly we'll see transcriptions available for voice Tweets. If you don't see the voice Tweet option just yet, you'll just have to post audio on Twitter using a third-party tool.
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