Users of the social network Twitter will no longer be able to post animated images in APNG format due to the fact that they can influence the occurrence of life-threatening seizures in people with epilepsy.
The developers took this step after a software error was identified on the Twitter platform that allows animated PNG files to be automatically launched, even if the user has the corresponding setting activated that prohibits this. Users will no longer be able to add animation of the specified format to their publications, but APNG posts already posted on the site will not be deleted.
βWe want everyone to be able to interact safely on Twitter. Animated PNGs were fun, but publishing them doesn't respect autoplay settings, so we're removing the ability to add them to tweets. This is for the safety of people with sensitivity to motion and flashing images, including epileptics,β Twitter said in a statement.
Using PNGs for animation is difficult. APNGs are orders of magnitude larger than normal preview images. This can mean a slower app, increased memory use and even crashes. These problems make for an unpleasant Twitter experience, and thereβs little that can be done to avoid it.
β Twitter Engineering (@TwitterEng)
It is worth saying that users will not be deprived of the ability to post animated images, since support for GIF files will continue. Since many users of the social network publish GIF files, the innovation will not cause serious inconvenience.
The developers note that they have no confirmation that APNG files were used by attackers to try to cause seizures in other users. Despite this, the network administration wants to make sure that this does not happen in the future.
Source: 3dnews.ru