Use ordinary letters instead of bubble-style Unicode characters. To emphasize a point, make it clear in the wording or use your publishing tool’s native bold or emphasis control. Decorative Unicode letters can be announced differently or skipped by assistive technology, making a post harder to understand.
Why bubble text can create an accessibility barrier
Bubble-text generators usually replace ordinary letters with different Unicode characters that look like stylized letters. They do not merely change the font seen by a reader: the underlying characters change too. Assistive technology may announce those characters differently from ordinary text or skip them, depending on the characters and the technology in use.
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The University of Houston advises: “Do not replace normal letters with non-standard, decorative characters to imitate bold, italic or fancy fonts.” The University of Louisiana at Lafayette likewise cautions that stylized Unicode—sometimes called “Instagram fonts” or “fancy fonts”—may be announced as symbols or skipped. Massachusetts Digital Accessibility notes that characters that look like ordinary letters may be interpreted differently or skipped by assistive technology. These are risks, not a guarantee that every screen reader will handle every character the same way.
Sources: University of Houston Social Media Accessibility Guidelines, University of Louisiana at Lafayette social media guidance, and Massachusetts Digital Accessibility social media guidance.
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What to use instead
Plain-text social posts
Keep the message in ordinary letters. Signal importance with a short lead-in, clear sentence structure, or a label such as “Important:” or “Deadline:”. University of Houston recommends rewriting for emphasis rather than relying on decorative characters: “If you need emphasis, rewrite the sentence so the importance is clear through wording, not decorative characters.” Avoid inserting unusual spaces inside words, which can also disrupt how text is read.
Websites and rich-text editors
Use the editor’s native bold or emphasis control instead of replacing letters with styled Unicode. Native formatting can preserve the text as ordinary characters while conveying emphasis in the document’s structure. Because editors differ, check that the particular tool produces semantic markup rather than only a visual effect.
Information in graphics
Repeat essential details—such as dates, deadlines, and locations—in the post text, or provide concise, relevant alt text when the platform allows it. Section508.gov advises that alt text communicate relevant image content and generally not repeat information already available in the post. This helps readers who cannot access the graphic while avoiding redundant descriptions.
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Add accurate captions, and provide audio description when important visual information is not already conveyed by the narration or soundtrack. W3C WAI’s social-media guidance treats transcripts, captions, and descriptions as appropriate support for accessible content creation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Small choices that make social posts easier to read
- Capitalize multiword hashtags: Write
#AccessibleSocialMediarather than using an unbroken lowercase hashtag, so word boundaries are easier to interpret. - Use emoji sparingly: Repeated emoji may each be announced by a screen reader, and placing them between sentences can interrupt reading. Do not use emoji in place of words or as the only structure for a list.
- Avoid ASCII art and character-built emoticons: Prefer a plain-language description or an appropriate emoji. W3C’s H86 technique explains that these character combinations can confuse screen-reader users; if retained in HTML, provide a text alternative or explanation as appropriate. H86 is an example technique, not a mandatory way to conform to WCAG.
See W3C WAI Technique H86 and W3C WAI’s social-media accessibility guidance for further guidance on text alternatives and accessible social content.
Quick Recap
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A quick check before publishing
- Keep the post’s words in ordinary letters; remove decorative Unicode substitutions and unusual spacing.
- Make the important point clear in the wording, or apply semantic emphasis with the publishing tool’s native control.
- Check that essential information in an image also appears in post text or has a suitable text alternative.
- For video, check that captions are accurate and that important visual information is described when the audio does not convey it.
- Review hashtags, emoji, and any character art for readability without relying on visual appearance alone.
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