Accessibility Photos in Google Maps, do's and don'ts

[ErmesT]

Contributing in Accessibility in Google Maps is extremely important, and we can help a lot other people by improving the information about this important subject.

• We can do this by updating the Accessibility Features in Google Maps.
• We can highlight Accessibility in our reviews
• We can add photos where the accessibility features of a place are clearly visible.

Many of us like to use this last method (adding helpful photos) to make “visibly clear" that a place is accessible: photos of ramps, signs, lifters, toilets. This kind of “visual communication” is in my opinion extremely important, because in this way we can show exactly how a place is.

I have recently seen that, to better highlight the accessibility features, some Local Guide is modifying the photos, using a superimposed graphic. Something like this

As you can see I wanted to add a disclaimer on the photo. The real content uploaded in Maps is this one. Why did I want to make that point clear?

• First of all because we need to understand how to better contribute with our photos.
• Then, because in Google Maps we have rules about photos, and we don’t want to be in trouble

The rules

Let’s first of all talk about rules, because in this way we will immediately make clear what we should never do

Format Specific Criteria is giving us a clear indication of the use of superimposed text of Graphic "Superimposed text or graphics, including promotional content such as logos, are subject to the following requirements: For traditional digital photos and videos, superimposed content cannot take up more than 10% of the image or video, and must be limited to a single edge.

Superimposed text or graphics must be relevant.

Distracting superimposed text or graphics are not permitted"

Don’t get confused by the text. The fact that it says “including promotional content” does not mean that “non-promotional” content is allowed. Content that does not comply with the rule is never permitted!

Photo visibility:

Many of us think that our accessibility photos will have, if we manipulate them, more visibility, thus being more useful for Google Maps users. Unfortunately it is not like this. The principle that give priority to a photo is the Community policy :

• “Take photos that clearly and accurately represent a location …”
• "Dark, blurry, and redundant photos will be removed.”

In addition, since the “superimposed text” is a violation of the aforementioned rule, the risk is that the photo will be removed (made private) thus losing all its usefulness.

This means that our photo will be promoted based on “image quality” and “image relevance” criteria.

Therefore, our “processed with additional content” image may otherwise lose the “quality and relevance” requirements, being moved down by the evaluation algorithm. This would not only make our work useless, but it would even make it counterproductive.

Upload “Self Explanatory” photos: If it is true that “a photo worth 1000 words” then: we try to apply this principle in our images, letting the photos explain themselves.

• We can include accessibility signs in our images, when they are present in the place

• Let’s make accessibility clearly visible! Instead of “telling it in words” we try to “show it in our images”. We take clear and easily understandable images. This way we won’t need to write “ramp”, because our image will explain it by itself

Add a caption in your photos: the caption will not give you points, but will increase the range of people who will benefit of your images, as the caption is available also for visually impaired people, through a screen reader

Improve the quality of your photos: In Local Guides Connect you can find a lot of tips about framing and editing your photos for improving the quality of the images submitted in Google Maps.

Just remember that Format Specific Criteria is defining the boundaries of our edits: “Stylistic adjustments (such as applied filters) are acceptable, provided that these stylistic changes are minimal and are not appended elements such as borders, text, collaged images, etc.

• Content that makes it difficult for others to understand the environment you’re sharing may be rejected. Examples are excessively dark or blurry images, significantly rotated compositions, and use of filters that dramatically alter the representation of the place.
• Images must be of a sufficient resolution. Exact requirements may vary by photo type and point of upload”

Tips for editing your photos

Google Maps App and Google Photos are providing tools for editing our photos before to upload them in Google Maps (a post will come soon)

Visibility Ideas:

Currently in Google Maps our Accessibility photos are not “automatically promoted” to a higher level of visibility. For this reason, following the principles explained above can be essential to make them more visible within a listing in Maps. However, there are Ideas and Proposals, made by Local Guides, to increase the visibility of the images dedicated to accessibility. Ideas that I personally think everyone should read, comment on and support.

The following are the ones I consider most relevant:

• Add Accessibility Tab for Photos on Google Maps, by @Mayford is the most recent
• Accessibility Photo Sectionby @MadanKPradhan is about the same concept
• Accessibility - Dedicated Photo Category & a Review Sort by @ravindus is extending the same concept also for reviews
• A separate tab for Accessibility/Information photos for each location in Mapswritten by @StephenAbraham is highlighting the same principle

Conclusions: Doing our best to give, through our images, the accessibility of a place, does not mean that we have to violate the rules. On the contrary, it is precisely through a correct application of the rules that we can give more visibility to our images

Do you contribute to Accessibility with photos? Share your tips here

[SalmaanN]

Hi @ErmesT

Thank you for this very informative post about accessibility. It is really helpful in learning about how to contribute to Accessibility features in Google Maps. The details about superimposed graphic is very helpful to me. I have bookmarked this post for my reference.

[TusharSuradkar]

Thank you for a detailed synopsis of the current practices @ermest

I remember having floated the idea of stamping photos on Google Maps with the accessibility icon last year:

https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/Idea-Exchange/Provide-Tool-to-Add-Accessibility-Icon-to-Photos/idi-p/2650311

It was appreciated far and wide and the Connect team also acknowledge it by publishing an Instagram story mentioning this.

Many local guides including several Accessibility Champions subsequently adopted this style.

I agree that:

Using photos in a Connect post with the symbols in a corner should be fine.
Using photos in Google Maps that have the symbols in a corner within the 10% margin is allowed.
Putting graphics in the middle of the photo is against the rule on Google Maps.
Putting graphics in the middle of the photo should be OK on Connect Posts at the risk of such photos appearing overtly distracting.

[DrShaunak]

@TusharSuradkar

I can see your idea has been closed by a Google Moderator on 02.02.2021.

[TusharSuradkar]

Yes, that’s correct @DrShaunak

In the same screenshot, you’d see I have acknowledged it as well.

[DrShaunak]

@TusharSuradkar Then the question is, despite the idea being closed, why do some local guides still take this idea and post some pictures on the maps?

@ErmesT Thank you for your helpful post. I personally think that placing the accessible icon on the image has changed the original value of the image. But sadly some local guides are still doing it. Any solution to this?

[TusharSuradkar]

@DrShaunak

I don’t know. Other local guides might have simply liked the idea.

An idea being closed does not mean it was disliked or discarded by anyone.

Google has its guidelines to close ideas.

As stated in the idea post, it cannot be implemented hence it was closed.

Who knows…? Maybe it will be implemented in Google Maps in the future.

Moreover, I have not seen any accessibility icon stamped on a Google Maps photo outside the 10% limit.

Though, including the icon on a photo in a Connect post is not prohibited.

I do not support uploading a photo to Google Maps that has graphics violating the rule of 10% margin.

In fact, many people add a signature, watermark, logo, or copyright in the 10% margin.

So an accessibility icon should be fine as well, IMO.

Those who do not like the idea may as well stay away and move on with their contributions.

Google Maps will take care of any violations in this regard.

[ErmesT]

Thank you for the feedback, @SalmaanN

Thank you for keeping the conversation alive, @TusharSuradkar , @DrShaunak .

First of all let me repeat one point, so that we can take it away from the conversation: According to How do I use the Idea Exchange and what happens to my ideas? “We’ll mark your idea as Closed if: … After six months, we are unable to move forward with your idea”. Ideas are frequently opened again if / when Google can implement them. Closing an idea doesn’t mean that the idea in bad, or not appreciated, but simply that cannot be implemented in a short period of time.

In addition, @TusharSuradkar , your idea is to “Provide a feature that allows users to add the accessibility icon”. This is extremely meaningful. Asking Google to provide a tool is a way to ask Google to acknowledge that there are photos “directly related to accessibility”, and this is not so different to ask for a specific tab where to group all the accessibility photos. You are not inviting the users to add directly a superimposed graphic.

However… there are contributors that are doing this and, not knowing the rules, are also abusing of this, adding content very similar to the example posted here. For everyone’s privacy I have created an example of what you can find in Google Maps, instead of sharing the link to a real contribution, but I can ensure you that there are a lot of contributions similar to the ones posted here.

These are the reasons why I wrote this post:

• Clarify what the rules say
• Clarify that certain forms of “image manipulation”, instead of making it more visible, risk having the opposite effect

I am not discussing what is appropriate to put or not to put in the 10% of the image. This doesn’t interest me
I’m talking about Accessibility, gentlemen, this is what interests me.
Personally, I believe that visual communication is extremely important, which is one of the reasons my Accessible Life program was created that way.

The questions we should ask ourselves are:

• Does adding this superimposed content make my image more useful? My answer is no. If the elements of accessibility need to be highlighted in my image, it means I had to take a better photo. If they are already clearly visible, what is my additional content for?
• Does adding this superimposed content make my image more visible? No! On the contrary, it could cause it to downgrade as it reduces the overall image quality

In addition, the risk is that Local Guides who do not know the rules may take inspiration from this type of images and exaggerate. Actually this is happening already, so I think it’s important to be clear about what to do and what not to do.

Our visibility in the community demands it. Whether we like it or not, what we say has a bearing on the behavior of others

[OliverKIWI]

Awesome topic @ErmesT @TusharSuradkar

I think this is the time when a picture should be worth 10,000 words here!

[TusharSuradkar]

I agree @ErmesT graphics ‘across the photo’ are distracting and are in a bad taste.

However little graphics within the 10% margin:

1. Makes a photo more visible in a heap of photos for PoI.

2. Easy to figure out photos that show accessibility instead of checking ‘every photo’ for a PoI.

3. Makes Visual Communication easy and fast.

4. Makes the image more useful.

5. Makes the image more visible in the heap of photos for a PoI.

6. Upgrades a regular photo to make it a special one - one that has an accessibility feature in it.

7. Increases the overall image quality.

This is not my opinion but my observation and experience with such photos.

The idea is widely used by local guides effectively and I will continue to profess this in the coming days…

Those who violate the image rules should be educated which your post is doing superbly via sample images but the entire idea of adding little icons can not be ruled out or discarded because of the actions of a few ignorant or over-enthusiastic local guides.

[ErmesT]

First of all I want to apologize with everyone, as I forgot an important (now fixed) point in my original post: Captions

Captions do not give points, but can help everyone in understanding what you want to highlight with your photos

I would never say “ignorant”, @TusharSuradkar , but I agree about “overenthusiastic”. They like to add accessibility feature, and they take example from more popular Local Guides, trying to do more than what we do. It is up to us to show the way, and they will follow.

When I say that a photo with superimposed text can be downgraded by the algorithm, I mean something like what is happening to your photos of the Sector 50 Metro Station . Despite being visible in your profile, no one of the photos is publicly visible in the Listing.

Or in the photos in Char Bagh Najaf Khan Tomb . Your review is one of the most relevant (congratulation) and the photo is attached in there, but if you try to search the photo itself, you will have to scroll down for a very long time.

Same for Baoli, RKPuram . Your review is the most helpful, but the photo itself do not appear on the photo section, even if it is visible in your review. Or in Moti Mahal Palace , where there are only 7 photos in total, and you uploaded 9 photos. Your photo with the superimposed graphic is not visible

In Maqbara -e- Paik your photo is between two spam photo.

You write Great reviews, Tushar, but talking about the photos itself (this is a post about photos) what I can say is that, generally speaking, also in your contributions several of them are downgraded, when you use a superimposed graphic. The reason is that the algorithm is designed for acting in such way

[TusharSuradkar]

I was completely unaware of this @ErmesT

I had no knowledge about the degrading algorithm.

Fortunately, I have uploaded not more than 1% of such photos to Google Maps compared to the liberal use of such photos in connect posts.

I think once Google Maps officially provides a tool to stamp such icons on photos, the algorithm will stop degrading.

So it is best to refrain from posting such photos on Google maps and confine using them in Connect posts.

I have learned a lot from your answers in this discussion and also elsewhere… a great treasure trove of useful information.

Thanks a bunch

[EDIT]: I wonder then what happens to those photos that use the 10% margin to place some logo or copyright message.

If Google Maps creates a rule and then degrades photos of those who try to benefit from it, that is tragic.

[ErmesT]

I see that now you are getting the scope of this post, @TusharSuradkar .

Personally I will be very happy when Google will create a dedicated space for accessibility photos, but in this case I still be convinced that a dedicated section in the photos area would be more appropriate than a stamp on the photos. The procedure will be easier (like to add a dish in Maps) and a photo about Accessibility will not have to compete with all the other photos in the “all photos” section.

As I said already, an appropriate caption will be more efficient than an elaborate editing for adding some superimpose content.

Regarding your last point, I have no issues with a watermark, that I add in most of my photos to protect my photographic work.

Adding a logo, even if generally permitted, is something that needs to be considered carefully, because the border between author right and self promotion is very thin

[TusharSuradkar]

That is what puzzles me @ErmesT

What happens to those photos that use the 10% margin to place some logo or copyright message?

If Google Maps creates a rule and then degrades photos of those who try to make use of it, that is tragic

And also discriminatory if it hides photos that place an accessibility icon but not those that place a logo or copyright signature within the 10% margin.

Once we find an answer to that, I will give up on my idea.

[ErmesT]

It is not a matter of “discrimination” @TusharSuradkar . The AI has not been designed to discriminate. It is more a matter of “granularity”. You are an engineer, so I am quite sure you will understand what I am saying. In any case I will try, if possible, to use a simple explanation, for everyone to understand the concept.

I am a contributor, and an influencer, of the Google Crowdsource program. In there, one of the most important activity is to teach the AI to better recognize the images. My personal Goal is to improve the capability of the AI to help blind people, as you can see in this video that is my personal “Manifesto” of the reason why I am Contributing in that program.

Signs on Google Crowdsource

The capacity of the AI to identify object an text is increasing day by day, and you can test it by simply making a search in your Google Photos.

• Actually Google Photos is able to read the text inside a photo and, thanks to the integration with Google Lens and Google Translator, it is able also to translate it. The function is actually active in the Google Maps App, as you can read in More accessibility in Maps - Text on Photo Translated Automatically
• In Google Photos your photos will be automatically categorized according to the “main subject” of the photo, as you can see in the screenshot here below.

However, looking for a specific subject, you will see that the subject is identified only if it is very relevant in the image. Here below my search for wheelchair on my own photos. As you can see, on the photos on the two sides of the screenshot what has been identified is the text in the image, not the symbol

I took two photos of the gate in the left side, however only the first one has been identified in the search, probably because on the second one the text was too small (not readable)

So, again, it is not a matter of discrimination, but simply an actual limitation of the capacity of a deep granularity (the capacity of clearly identifying details inside a photo and to define them as preeminent).

Understanding how the AI works will help you to understand that what you said is not correct: “And also discriminatory if it hides photos that place an accessibility icon but not those that place a logo or copyright signature within the 10% margin”.

• A copyright signature (a text with the name of the photographer) is readable by the AI, and will be correctly interpreted
• A superimposed image is not preeminent in the photo, as it is using (to follow the rules) only a more space near the margin. However that superimposed image may reduce the global quality of the photo, and this is the reason why the photo can be less (or even not) visible in our contributions

There is not a discrimination for the accessibility symbol, this must be clear. I can give you tons of example of different photos, uploaded by me in Maps, that are not visible in the place even if all of them are publicly visible on my profile.

Understanding this will help to understand how to better contribute, and this is the reason why, in my photos, I want to make the Accessibility “visible in the photo itself”, more than “declare that a place is accessible”. I use the “Accessibility” word in my caption, to make it searchable, but every photo is (must be) self explanatory.

[TusharSuradkar]

Thank you for the other explanations @ErmesT - all are satisfactory and are helping to broaden my knowledge base.

I never said or meant that the AI or its algorithm is discriminatory.

The outcome of applying a rule is discriminatory in nature in spite of whatever granularity it is capable of applying on an image.

I was surprised to see that some of my photos were degraded and hidden.

They were either violating the rule of 10% margin to which I am solely responsible.

Else the AI should altogether leave it to the discretion of the user what to put in there.

It is exactly this space that I profess to utilize to use to make a photo stand out from the rest.

Also, any violation of this rule about the photo is punishable and is acceptable to be downgraded, hidden, or removed altogether.

And finally, any other idea about the dedicated tabs and similar ones for placing accessibility photos is welcome.

Until such time that one of them is implemented, we must not hesitate to explore other ideas. one of which is stamping an accessibility icon within the rules set for the Google Maps photos.

[ErmesT]

Contributing with our photos in several Google programs we are helping the AI to improve his capacity to read and understand the relevance of the details in a photo, @TusharSuradkar .

However at the moment the AI is not completely able to do this.

The scope of the rule was probably to give to the contributors the possibility to protect the ownership of the photo, avoiding on the meantime the possibility to spam in there (just imagine a professional photographer that is adding his logo using the contribution in Maps to promote his business).

In the future, a well trained AI will be able for sure to discriminate between a promotional logo and the icon of a wheelchair, but at the moment we are in a grey area, so the aim of improving the information can end in an unexpected result.

Again, this is exactly the scope of this post, because it seems that there is a lack of awareness about what can happen to our photo, if we use a superimposed content

[davidhyno]

Hi @ErmesT !
I am also a supporter of the “no editing” of the photos to be inserted on Maps: both as regards the use of filters that are too crowded and for the insertion of writings or graphic elements in the photo itself.
For the simple reason that a photo with graphic elements - such as the ones you have included as an example - can most often confuse the Maps user, thus creating an effect contrary to the intentional one.
There may also be someone who goes in search of a sign indicating the accessible ramp like the one he saw in the picture, perhaps not noticing that instead it was only a graphic overlay applied by the user.
It is much more useful, as you pointed out, to insert a caption indicating whether the ramp is to the left or right of the parking lot so as to immediately direct the user in front of the right entrance.

I hope that with your post other LocalGuides will be clear that it is enough to frame the photo carefully to make it speak for itself at first glance (and this concerns all photos and not just those concerning accessibility).

Thanks for your helpful post Ermes!

Bye,
David

[TusharSuradkar]

I understand your viewpoint @ErmesT and appreciate your insight about the internal wirings and nitty-gritty about photos, but I do not upload photos to train the AI. The AI is free to do what it deems fit with the contents of the photo.

My intention is to mark a photo as having an accessibility feature to call the attention of a user of Google Maps who might need it.

This has a great appeal and usability and there are many people who find this idea appealing and see merit in doing so.

In fact, several local guides have also started this practice.

Also, as long a no one is violating any rules laid down for photos uploaded to Google Maps it is perfectly alright to use it for the stated purpose.

I leave the rest to Google Maps to decide and not get distracted because you or someone else has a different opinion about this topic.

All while, any violation of the rules for a photo, knowingly or unknowingly, is subject to subsequent action like degradation, being hidden, or removal altogether.

[AlejandraMaria]

Hi @ErmesT ,

Very, very, very interesting post full of ideas of how to add accessibility photos to Google Maps .

The debate intense, full of different points of view.

I am agree with you that we have to try to “show it in our images” A good photo conveys a lot of information, it is worth a thousand words . With the icons or pictograms of the place we can show how accessible it is.

Greetings from the South of Spain,

Alejandra,