Accessibility

All platforms

Screen Readers

Tumblr works with screen readers on both web and mobile devices. There are
different screen readers to choose from depending on your device. Some
common screen readers are:

iOS / macOS:

• VoiceOver for
  iPhone
• VoiceOver for
  macOS

Android：

• TalkBack

Windows:

• NVDA
• JAWS (Paid)

Color Palettes

Color palettes change the default colors and fonts, depending on the palette
you choose. 

On the web, there are twelve color palettes. The mobile apps offer five
color palettes with the addition of “System Default” which uses a color
palette based on your device’s settings.

Mobile color palettes:

• True Blue
• Dark Mode
• Low-Contrast Classic
• Goth Rave
• Pride

Web-only color palettes:

• Cement 
• Cybernetic
• Canary
• Ghost
• Vampire (Serif font)
• Pumpkin (Serif font)
• Snow Bright

On Web:

In your Dashboard
Settings, select your desired color palette under the “Color
Palette" setting.

Or, press Shift + P to cycle through all available palettes. See more
keyboard shortcuts in this
section.

In the Apps:

• Tap the little human
• Tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of your blog
• Choose “General settings" on iOS or “Account settings" on Android
• Tap “Color palette.”

Image Alt Text

Not all visitors to your blog can see your images. Some people with visual
impairments use screen readers to navigate the web.

To assist folks with visual impairments, you can add alternative text
(commonly referred to as alt text) that describes what is shown in the
image. The alt text should be a brief description of your image, as if you
were describing it to someone over the phone, to make your post accessible
to folks using a screen reader.

To add alt text to an image:

• Add an image in
  the editor
• In the bottom right corner of the image click the 3 dots icon (On web: Hover
  your mouse button over the image to see the dots).

Filtering

If there is content or a topic you don’t want to see, you can filter it from
your dashboard and feeds. There are two filtering options on Tumblr: Filter
by tags and filter by post content. Regardless of which option you choose,
filtered posts will have an overlay obscuring the post itself with an
explanation of why the post was filtered and the option to view the post.

It’s also worth noting that filtering isn’t applied to ads, sponsored posts,
asks or submissions in your inbox, posts sent via messaging, or your own
posts.

You can read more in our article, Tag and Post
Filtering.

Web-only

Keyboard Shortcuts

Click the keyboard icon in the bottom-right corner of the dashboard to see a
list of shortcuts for browsing your dashboard and composing your posts.

Dashboard

Lightbox

Next image	→
Previous image	←
Close	ESC

 

Composing

 

Third-Party Extensions

Various browsers offer (third-party) extensions that can customize your
browser and tailor your experience on the web to your needs. Check your
browser’s info for instructions.

• Firefox Add-ons
• Chrome Extensions

One popular extension for Tumblr is XKit Rewritten. 

 

 

Mobile 

Media Auto-play

To enable or disable auto-play of GIFs and videos in the Tumblr app:

• Tap the account icon (little human).
• 點選齒輪圖示。
• Then “General settings” (iOS) / “Account settings” (Android)
• Tap “Media auto-play”
• You can choose between “Never auto-play”, “Only on Wi-Fi”, or “Always
  auto-play”.

Dynamic Text Support

The Tumblr mobile apps support dynamic text support. Text in the mobile apps
will scale based on your device’s system settings.

To learn how to change your device’s font settings, please refer to your
device’s documentation:

• iOS: Change the font size on your
  iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
• Android: Change text and display
  settings

System Settings

Most devices offer additional accessibility features. We recommend checking
your device’s documentation:

• macOS: Get started with accessibility
  features on Mac
• iOS: Get started with accessibility
  features on iPhone
• Windows: Discover Windows accessibility
  features
• Android: Android accessibility overview

Tips to Make Your Blog More Accessible

Write Descriptive Image Captions

When you post an image, consider writing a caption to improve the reading
experience for everyone.

You can be creative with image captions. While alt text should be factual,
captions can help convey the feeling of the image.

For example, rather than “My son on his swing,” try “My son is playing on
his favorite swing. His face is filled with pure joy on a beautiful Spring
day. Perfection.”

Write Descriptive Links

When adding links in your text it helps to be descriptive in the linked
text. For example, “Click here” is not as explanatory as “Contact me.”

Choose Fonts and Colors Wisely

Avoid font styles and sizes that make your blog difficult to read. In
addition, pay attention to contrasting colors, i.e. the difference between
the darkness of your text and the lightness of your background.

Custom Theme Tips

If you’re using a custom theme or
are a theme developer creating custom themes, you can check specific
regulations such as ADA and Section 508 to ensure your
custom theme is accessible.

You can also test specific themes for compliance with these guidelines using
a tool like the WAVE Web Accessibility tool.