Facebook just became a bit friendlier to blind people.

The social network on Tuesday launched a new feature called "automatic alternative text" (AAT), which will describe images to people who are blind or visually impaired. If your friend posts a picture from her hiking trip, for example, the app will now be smart enough to recognize visual cues from the photo and say aloud, "Image may contain: two people, smiling, sunglasses, sky, outdoor [sic], water."

It's not the most evocative description of all time, but imagine using Facebook without any visual cues whatsoever. The social network works best when words and pictures combine to create meaning. Someone might caption a photo with the words "I can't believe I did this!" -- but if you can't see the picture, you would have no idea if they were referring to eating an entire wedding cake or hitting a reindeer with their truck.