The Unseen Image Challenge

What Is The Challenge?

The Unseen Image Challenge invites everyone to post a solid black square with detailed alt text describing what would have been there. This simulates how screen reader users experience the web.

Through this simple act, we create awareness about digital accessibility and help sighted users understand the importance of quality image descriptions.

See It In Action

Below are examples of black images with alt text descriptions. Hover over each image to see what's "hidden" in the description:

Alt text: A Maine Coon cat with thick orange and white fur lounging on a windowsill. Sunlight streams through the window, creating a warm glow around the cat. Its eyes are half-closed as it appears to be dozing off in contentment.

Tuesday: Pets & Animal Friends

Alt text: A hiking trail winding through a dense forest of tall pine trees. The ground is covered with fallen pine needles and patches of vibrant green moss. Rays of sunlight filter through the canopy, creating dappled light patterns on the forest floor.

Monday: Nature & Outdoors

Alt text: A homemade blueberry pie with a lattice crust on a vintage ceramic plate. The golden-brown crust has been brushed with egg wash to create a shiny finish. Some of the deep purple filling is bubbling through the lattice pattern, and a few loose blueberries sit beside the pie.

Thursday: Food & Cuisine

How To Participate

1. Choose a meaningful image based on the daily theme
2. Replace it with a plain black square in your post
3. Write a vivid, detailed description as the alt text (or use @altbot to help!)
4. Use the hashtag #UnseenImageChallenge
5. Link this site so others know how to participate!
6. Nominate 3 friends to join the challenge

For more comprehensive guidance and examples on creating effective alt text, visit our resource page at micr0.dev/alttext.

Not sure how to write good descriptions? DM @altbot on Mastodon with your original image, and get help generating alt text you can use! (Make sure you're following Altbot first, as Mastodon blocks unsolicited DMs).

Daily Themes

The challenge runs for one full week! Join in on any or all of the daily themes:

Community Showcase

Altbot will be boosting exceptional examples throughout the week and featuring creative descriptions. Your participation helps inspire others to make the Fediverse more accessible!

Why This Matters

Every day, blind and low-vision people experience the internet entirely through text descriptions. When those descriptions are missing or inadequate, large portions of content become inaccessible.

But the benefits of alt text go beyond screen readers! Many people choose to turn off images to save data, reduce distractions, or improve loading times. For them, well-written alt text is the only way to understand what would have been shown.

By participating in this challenge, you're experiencing first-hand how important detailed descriptions are, while helping raise awareness about digital accessibility.

The more people understand accessibility needs, the more inclusive our digital spaces become for everyone!

The Art of Writing Alt Text

Creating good alt text is a skill that anyone can learn. Some quick tips:

1. Focus on the main subject and key details - not everything needs to be described
2. Avoid redundant phrases like "image of" (screen readers already announce it's an image)
3. Consider the context - why was this image shared and what's important about it?

For more comprehensive guidance and examples on creating effective alt text, visit our resource page at micr0.dev/alttext.