Emoji in alt text

This test details audible effects of emoji (in alternative text) when read by different screen readers. Inspired by Emoji Accessibility for Visually Impaired People. See the specific test case from the research article on YouTube.

Findings

Emoji descriptions can vary between operating systems and software. This test case shows how spoken description of the emoji may not match visual intention.

VoiceOver on macOS and VoiceOver on iOS describes the emoji as angry — “looking, huffing with anger face”. JAWS describes the emoji as triumphant — “looking face with look of triumph”. NVDA describes the emoji more objectively — “looking face with steam from nose”.