GIPHY and Scribely Partner to Improve Platform Accessibility for Users with Screen Readers


1 in 5 people today identify as disabled. Whether that be visual, cognitive, or mobile, there is a significant population who require assistive technologies to navigate the web. Today, GIPHY and content accessibility solutions provider, Scribely, are announcing a partnership that helps fill in the missing content that makes the web inaccessible to those who are visually impaired. By partnering with Scribely, GIPHY will be the first GIF provider to have alt text descriptions for our most popular content available through our API. This means screen readers will read aloud the alt text for this content enabling these users to experience GIFs when they search and share GIPHY content to express themselves.

Furthermore, Scribely adds an essential human touch to this entire process. Rather than using auto-generated descriptions or plainly describing what they see, Scribely’s team of writers are well-versed in accessibility guidelines and write effective and engaging descriptions that take the message and the meaning in mind. They consider, for example, “what is the purpose of this GIF?” and “why would someone send it?” This ensures that the user experience with alt text is as engaging, equitable, and thoughtful as possible.