Instagram Alt Text: How to Add It and Write It Well
Instagram alt text is a short written description of a photo that screen readers read aloud to people who can't see the image. You add it in the post's advanced settings before you publish, or by editing the post afterward. A good one takes about 20 seconds: say what is in the picture and why it matters, in one or two plain sentences. 🍽️
Below you'll find the exact steps on iPhone, Android and desktop, a simple formula for writing descriptions, examples for local businesses, and the mistakes that trip people up.
TL;DR
- Alt text is a description of an image that is read aloud by screen readers. It is not shown as ordinary caption text.
- Instagram writes a description automatically, but it is often generic. Stanford's accessibility team notes it may bear little resemblance to the actual image.
- Add your own under Advanced Settings (new post) or Edit, then Accessibility (published post). Stories don't support it.
- Keep it short, concrete and complete, skip "photo of," and don't repeat your caption word for word.
- Make it part of your approval step so every post gets a quick alt text check before it goes out.
Table of Contents
- What Instagram alt text is
- Can people see your alt text?
- Why alt text matters for a local business
- How to add alt text on Instagram
- How to write alt text that helps
- Instagram alt text examples for local businesses
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Our perspective: make alt text part of the workflow
- Where Presly fits in
- A 5-minute alt text routine
- FAQ
- Sources
What Instagram alt text is
Alt text, short for alternative text, is a text version of what an image shows. The American Foundation for the Blind explains that Instagram can generate one automatically, but a creator can replace it with a more accurate and useful description for screen-reader users.
The automatic version comes from object recognition. CUNY's accessibility guidance describes it as technology that provides a visual description for people with visual impairments, and says you can swap in a better one.
Think about what that produces for a real business. A photo of your Friday special might be described as a plate with food on a table. That's technically true. It doesn't tell anyone it's your butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and sage.
Can people see your alt text?
Not in the normal feed. Instagram alt text is typically read only when someone uses a screen reader to access Instagram, according to CUNY. It doesn't appear as visible text under your photo.
That means two things:
- You can write it for the person who needs it without cluttering your caption.
- Anything your whole audience needs to know, like a price, a date or a promotion, still belongs in the caption.
Why alt text matters for a local business
Your customers include people who use screen readers: someone checking your menu before choosing a place for dinner, someone looking at your salon's color work, someone comparing gym classes. If your images arrive as vague auto-descriptions, they get a worse version of your page than everyone else.
The AFB points out that user-written text is typically more accurate and informative than automatic descriptions. And Western Michigan University recommends adding custom alt text to every Instagram photo and reviewing the automatic version rather than relying on it.
We won't pretend alt text is a growth hack. It isn't one, and we don't promise followers or bookings from it. It is part of a professional, consistent presence: your posts are readable by more of the people who find you.
How to add alt text on Instagram
There are two moments to add it: while creating a post, or after it's live.
On a new post (iPhone and Android)
Per Stanford's Instagram guide:
- Start a new post and select your photo.
- Get to the final screen, then tap Advanced Settings.
- Choose Write Alt Text.
- Type your description.
- Tap Done on iPhone, or the checkmark on Android.
- Share the post as usual.
On a post that's already published
- Open the photo and tap the three-dot menu.
- Choose Edit.
- Tap Accessibility (Instagram's own help page describes this as Edit alt text, in the bottom right of the photo).
- Enter your text and save.
On desktop (web)
The State of Nebraska's accessibility guide says descriptions can be added on the web, iOS and Android. For the web version:
- Select the image.
- Click Add Description, apply any edits, then click Next.
- Choose Accessibility.
- Enter the alt text.
- Click Share.
Why you can't add alt text on Stories
If you can't find the option on a Story, that's why: Instagram Stories do not support adding alt text, according to the Los Angeles Department on Disability. For Stories, put key information into on-screen text that is large and readable, and keep your feed posts as the place where full descriptions live. Our guide to Instagram Stories for small businesses covers how to plan them.
How to write alt text that helps
The guidance from government and university accessibility teams is remarkably consistent. Boiled down:
- Say what matters. The AFB advises describing the image's purpose or key information in concise, focused, complete sentences.
- Skip the preamble. Leave out "image of" and "photo of." A screen reader already announces it's an image.
- Include visible text. If words in the image matter, put them in the description.
- Don't repeat the caption. The Los Angeles Department on Disability says to prioritize the most important elements and avoid repeating what the caption already says.
- Keep it short. Case Western Reserve University recommends fewer than 120 characters for a single Instagram photo.
- Don't describe every detail. Minnesota IT Services advises explaining why you used the image, not cataloging each visual element.
A simple formula
Try this: subject + setting or action + the detail that gives it meaning.
- Subject: what's the main thing?
- Setting or action: where, or doing what?
- Meaning: why did you post it?
Context beats object recognition
Minnesota IT Services shows the difference clearly. An automated description might read "four people, people smiling, people standing." A contextual one reads "four Minnesota IT Services staff working at the state fair booth." The second tells you who, what and where. That's the gap between auto alt text and yours.
Understanding what a machine can't know is the main skill here. It can't know that the person in the apron is your head chef, that the neon sign is your new patio, or that the before-and-after is a balayage correction.
Instagram alt text examples for local businesses
Here are descriptions written the way the guidance suggests, for the kinds of posts our customers share most. They are illustrative examples, not templates to paste.
| Business | Weak (auto-style) | Better alt text | |---|---|---| | Restaurant | Plate of food on a table | Pan-seared salmon over lemon risotto with asparagus, tonight's special | | Salon | Woman with long hair | Back view of a client's honey-blonde balayage with loose waves | | Fitness studio | People standing in a room | Six members holding a plank in the 6 a.m. group class at the studio | | Real estate | House with trees | Front of a two-story brick colonial with a porch and a for sale sign | | Retail | Flowers in a vase | Window display of spring tulips in blue ceramic vases at the shop entrance | | Home services | Man with a tool | Technician fitting a new water heater in a basement utility room |
A few public examples show the same pattern. Nebraska's guide offers descriptions like an office cubicle with beige walls, a brown L-shaped desk, two monitors and a computer tower, or a table of food for an office gathering. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi uses "Student smiling while studying at a library table." Notice how they name the real things and stop.
Text-heavy graphics
A menu board, a class schedule or a promo graphic is trickier. The Los Angeles Department on Disability recommends summarizing the key takeaways in alt text. If the text is too long, point readers to the caption or a link, and put crucial text in the caption itself.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi suggests a brief summary plus a longer explanation nearby, for example: "Chart showing enrollment growth. Full description below." For a restaurant, that could be: "Weekend brunch menu with six dishes and prices. Full menu in the caption." Then actually put the menu in the caption.
This is also the reasoning behind how to treat AI-made visuals. If you generate a graphic with text in it, check that the essential words appear in the caption too. A guide on making AI-generated visuals usable is a good companion read for that habit.
Carousels
For multiple images, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi recommends describing them in their display order, and only the information that's important to understanding the post. Add alt text to each slide so nobody lands on slide four with no description at all.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Leaving the default. Instagram's automatic text is a starting point. UC Berkeley says it requires human review.
- Keyword stuffing. Alt text is for people first. Writing "best pizza near me cheap pizza deals" helps nobody, and a screen reader will read every word out.
- Writing a paragraph. If it takes more than two sentences, some of it belongs in the caption.
- Copying the caption. Listeners hear both. Make the alt text describe the picture and the caption tell the story.
- Hiding crucial information in the image. Prices, hours and dates go in the caption.
- Forgetting video. Western Michigan University also advises reviewing Instagram's generated video captions for transcription errors, since accessibility goes beyond photo descriptions.
Our perspective: make alt text part of the workflow
We build Presly for busy owners: restaurant managers between lunch and dinner, salon owners with a full book, gym managers juggling classes. What we see again and again is that good habits survive only when they're small and built into the routine.
Alt text is a perfect example. It takes seconds, but only if it's a defined step rather than an afterthought. Here's how we'd suggest approaching it:
- Review before publishing. Presly reads your website, writes on-brand captions, generates matching images, and lets you approve every post before it goes out. Use that approval moment to also ask: would someone who can't see this image understand it?
- Treat the caption and alt text as a pair. The caption sells, tells the story and holds the essential facts. The alt text describes what's pictured.
- Batch it. When posts are planned a month ahead, you can review descriptions in one sitting instead of scrambling daily.
- Be honest about tools. AI can draft, but it doesn't know your dining room, your team or your regulars. Your edit is what makes it yours.
— THAO
Where Presly fits in
If writing captions, creating images and scheduling posts across platforms is already eating your week, that's what Presly handles. It scans your website, generates 30 days of tailored posts with captions, images and hashtags, and publishes automatically to up to ten platforms, with approval before anything goes live. A unified inbox gathers comments, reviews and messages with AI-drafted replies you send yourself. 🎉
Plans start at $39/mo for Starter, with Growth at $79/mo and Pro at $159/mo. Agencies managing many clients can look at Agency at $499/mo, which includes 40 client workspaces. Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial (card required). Presly doesn't generate video, so it's built around photos, graphics and text.
See plans and start your free trial →
Want to see how scheduling works first? Take a look at our Instagram scheduler or the approval workflow for teams.
A 5-minute alt text routine
Here's a routine you can run once a week:
- Open your last five feed posts.
- Check which have default or empty alt text.
- Write one sentence for each using the formula: subject, setting, meaning.
- For graphics with text, confirm the key details are also in the caption.
- Going forward, add alt text at the final screen before you share.
FAQ
What is Instagram alt text?
It's a text description of an image's visual content, used mainly by screen readers. Instagram can generate it automatically, but you can replace it with something more accurate and useful. Doing so gives blind and low-vision users a much better experience of your post.
How do I add alt text on Instagram after posting?
Open the photo, tap the three-dot menu, choose Edit, then Accessibility. Enter your description and save it. The exact wording of the menu can shift as Instagram updates the app.
Can people see my alt text on Instagram?
Normally not. It is read to people who use a screen reader, rather than displayed as visible post text. Anything everyone needs to read should go in the caption.
Why can't I add alt text on Instagram?
The most common reason is that you're working on a Story, which doesn't support alt text. For feed posts, look under Advanced Settings on the final screen before sharing, or use Edit and then Accessibility on a published post.
How long should Instagram alt text be?
Short. One or two sentences is plenty, and Case Western Reserve University recommends fewer than 120 characters for a single photo. If you need more room, put the details in the caption and point to them.
Sources
- Accessibility and Instagram, American Foundation for the Blind
- Instagram, Stanford University IT
- Social Media, The City University of New York
- Social Media, Western Michigan University
- How to Add Alternate Text to images on Instagram, State of Nebraska
- Alt Text for Social Media Platforms, UC Berkeley
- Social Media Accessibility, Los Angeles Department on Disability
- Alt Text for Social Media, Minnesota IT Services
- Instagram, Case Western Reserve University
- Alternative Text, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
- AI Generated Visuals: How to Make Them Usable
- Image alt text, missing or empty