Hearing Photos on Facebook

In the era of "pics or it didn't happen," photos are a huge part of using the internet, and as of last week, Facebook is helping some of those photos reach people with visual impairments.

The company, along with all of its platforms including its Messenger app, Instagram, and WhatsApp, rolled out a new feature that reads a short description of a photo to blind users. From the company's point of view, it's a further step to expand the numbers of users.

"We stand for connecting every person, for a global community, for bringing people together for giving people a voice, for a free flow of ideas and cultures across nations," said Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, at a major conference on April 12.

For blind people or people with visual impairments, the "automatic alternative text" feature adds another dimension to the social world that exists online. For now, it's only running on iPhones and in English, and the descriptions are very limited. 

But Scott Blanks, the senior director of programs at San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, says the descriptions of photos have helped him connect with people in ways that weren't previously possible before. 

Check out a video about this new feature below.