Frequently Asked Questions
What are Photosymbols?
Photosymbols are pictures for Easy Read information - this is a kind of information for people with a learning disability, using easy words and pictures together.
What is Easy Read?
Easy Read is a kind of accessible information for people with learning disabilities. By using easy words, bigger fonts and pictures together, information can be much clearer. Photosymbols are specially designed for use in Easy Read information.
What’s in the Photosymbols Library?
There are thousands of pictures in the library covering a wide range of topics relevant to people with a learning disability. The library is also where you'll find our Design, Write (beta by invite) and Organise functionality. Find out more about what's included here or see our list of free Zoom events where you can take a tour of Photosymbols here.
What is Design Mode?
Design Mode allows you to create Easy Read materials on our website. Choose from a variety of templates, add text and pictures and share your work with a PDF.
What is Write mode?
Our beta AI Writing Assistant (currently available via a waiting list) helps make complex information simple and supports you in writing clear, accessible content for your Easy Read work.
What is Organise Mode?
A base from which to access your saved images, share company specific images such as logos or staff photos with the rest of your team, and organise the content you create in Design and Write.
What are the differences between the subscription packages?
You can see full details of our current subscriptions here. Each person accessing Photosymbols has their own unique login.
Our regular subscriptions range from a Personal Licence, for one person, to a Site Licence that gives all the flexibility to cover a large organisation with up to 500 logins. A subscription starts at 1 year in length. You can also choose to purchase for multiple years at a time for a more favourable price.
Our Commercial Use licence for Easy Read designers allows you to create and sell your Easy Read work. There are slightly different conditions for a Commercial Use licence, and we’re always happy to discuss whether this is the right licence for you via ask@photosymbols.com
Do subscriptions auto-renew?
No. You can see the date your subscription ends displayed when you log in. We will notify you a month before it ends to remind you. Then you can order another year’s subscription in our shop and we will seamlessly extend your licence. If you have any questions about your renewal you can contact ask@photosymbols.com and we’ll be happy to help.
How can I pay?
Go to our online shop to choose your subscription. We accept card payments as well as Purchase Order and Bank Transfer. Alternatively you can send us a Purchase Order and we'll place the order for you and deal directly with your Finance Department.
How do I pay by Purchase Order?
It’s best to check your organisation’s internal policy for how to raise a purchase order as these can vary. We are more than happy to deal directly with your Finance or Procurement teams for you.
The majority of our customers who use Purchase Orders send these to us in the first instance, before an invoice is submitted to their Accounts Payable department for payment. However, if you need us to send you a quotation first or raise an invoice in order to start your Purchase Order process we are happy to do so. You can get in touch with us on ask@photosymbols.com to discuss your options.
Do I need to wait for payment to clear before I can use my login?
No - as soon as you place an order in our online store, or your order is processed by our customer service team, your login should be active and ready to use. We offer 30 day payment terms as standard, in order to give your Finance team time to arrange payment. If you have recently purchased a subscription but don’t appear to have access to the content you have purchased then get in touch with us on ask@photosymbols.com and we can help.
Is Photosymbols classed as Digital Goods?
Yes. Consumers living in the EU must pay VAT on digital goods at the rate applicable in their own country. This will show in your cart when you place an order.
Is there a limit on use of images?
You can find full and current details of all limitations by reading our Licence Agreement and Acceptable Use pages.
In short, purchasing a subscription gives the individual, named users on the licence the ability to download and use content from the library in their own work while their account is active. There is currently a limit of 150 image downloads per user per day, and you are permitted to store up to 250 images on your own device at any one time.
As part of your Licence Agreement, you are not permitted to share content obtained through your licence with any third party, use it for profit without the proper use of a Commercial Use licence, or use it for any kind of AI training or machine learning.
What format are the pictures?
The pictures are available in PNG or JPEG format, and you can choose which you prefer in the Preferences section of your account page. You can download or copy and paste these straight into documents. PNGs have transparent backgrounds so you can place them on colour backgrounds or make your own combination of pictures - without a white box showing.
There is a black background behind the pictures in my document.
This is a known issue that is often found when using an older version of some Microsoft packages to make your Easy Read. You can try to fix the issue in the first instance by:
- Toggling between ‘PNG’ or ‘JPEG’ in the Preferences section of your Photosymbols account page to see if either works better.
- Trying a different browser. For example, if you are using Chrome, does the problem still happen when you use Microsoft Edge?
- Checking that your software is up to date - an older version of Word or Powerpoint for example, will be more likely to have this issue.
If you have tried all of the above steps and are still having difficulty, get in touch with us on ask@photosymbols.com
I'm having technical difficulties with the site
We have a few first steps you can take to resolve issues yourself on our Troubleshooting page. For more help, get in touch with us at ask@photosymbols.com. It also helps to let us know what you have tried so far or to send us screenshots of the problem.
I keep getting asked to prove I'm not a robot
Here are some things you can try in the first instance:
- if you have access to a different browser, e.g. Firefox if you are currently using Chrome, does that work?
- if you have access to a different device, does that work?
- if you are accessing the site via a VPN try switching that off
- try clearing browser cookies for the Photosymbols site, details on that are browser specific, but a Google search for "<browser name> clear cookies" should help.
Often this type of "login loop" on websites disappears after a few hours (as repeated attempts make the robot detection think you actually are a robot), so you may want to try again later after a break if none of the above works.
If none of the above works let us know on ask@photosymbols.com what browser and operating system you are using and we'll try to assist further. It also helps to let us know what you have tried so far.
How do I log in to Photosymbols?
Click the ‘Log In’ button in the top right corner of the screen. Enter your email address and password and click ‘Sign In’. Once logged in you will be able to see information about your account. If you have a current, valid subscription to the Library, you will see a ‘Library’ button in the top right corner of your screen.
If you were expecting to see the ‘Library’ button but it isn’t there or isn’t working, get in touch with us on ask@photosymbols.com
How do I log in to my Photosymbols training?
First log in to Photosymbols as described above. If you have a current, valid course place, you will see a ‘Training’ button in the top right corner of your screen. When you click this, you will be asked to sign in to your training account. This uses the same email address as your Photosymbols account, but will have a different password. Use that to sign in and you will see your Dashboard, which details any courses or communities you have subscribed to.
If you were expecting to see the ‘Training’ button but it isn’t there or isn’t working, get in touch with us on ask@photosymbols.com
Can I log in from any computer?
Yes. As long as you have a current subscription.
Can I share my login?
No. Each user must have their own account. Get in touch with us if you need an extra account.
I can't seem to log in...
Get in touch with us at ask@photosymbols.com
Is Photosymbols for Windows or Mac?
You can use Photosymbols on a Windows PC or Mac via your web browser. To access all the features of our site and enjoy a seamless online experience, we recommend that you use one of these modern browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. These browsers are more secure, faster, and fully compatible with our website. If you are already using one of these browsers, please check you're running the most up-to-date version.
How do I credit Photosymbols?
There is a graphic badge in the library you can use - just search for 'made with photosymbols'. Alternatively, you can just use the text 'Pictures by Photosymbols' or something similar.
Is there a discount for charities?
We don't offer a discount for charities, as many of them are much bigger than we are. But if you are a small group run by disabled people / people with a learning disability then please get in touch.
Do I need a Commercial Use licence?
We offer a Commercial Use licence which gives you permission to sell products or services that include embedded Photosymbols imagery. There is an annual fee to maintain the licence. Any work already produced remains licensed if you choose not to renew but you will no longer be able to charge for future products or services if they include Photosymbols imagery. The licence includes 5 logins to allow easy team working.
How do you use my personal information and how do you keep it safe?
We take the security of your data seriously. Any information we collect from you is stored securely and is only used for legitimate business purposes. You can see our full Privacy Notice here. Some features on Photosymbols give you the option to upload personal information about third parties such as colleagues, clients or people you work with. We treat this with the same level of care and attention as we treat your own information. However, you are responsible for checking that you have their consent and for following your own good practice around protecting their personal data.
What is Safe Search?
Our picture library covers a wide range of topics that are relevant primarily to adults with learning disabilities. This means we cover topics that some people may consider sensitive or distressing. Customers who do not want these images to be visible when browsing the library, can toggle the ‘Safe Search’ option on the account page or in the picture library to hide images that have been filtered by our team as sensitive. You can read the blog we used to introduce this feature for more information.
Is there alt text with the images?
Each picture in the library has a suggested summary and some suggested alt text, with a copy button for you to be able to use it in your documents and web pages. We recommend adapting our suggested alt text to suit the context in which you are using an image.
What is team media?
You have the option to share images that you upload to Photosymbols or documents that you create in Design Mode with other members of your team. These are only shared with other people who are part of the same subscription as you. By default, the ability to share media within your team is enabled. An Account Holder can choose to disable this option for all users on their account by toggling ‘Allow Team Media’ on their account page.
Does Photosymbols use Artificial Intelligence?
Photosymbols take a proactive stance to using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools safely and ethically. We have an internal AI policy which we keep in constant review alongside our Expert Advisers with learning disabilities. We also offer training about the use of AI in Easy Read.
Our Write Mode uses a beta AI Writing Assistant (currently available via a waiting list) to help users translate complex information into a format more suitable for Easy Read. Although Photosymbols never use AI to create images of people with learning disabilities, we do use AI assistance for some elements of images in the library where direct portrayal isn’t practical, e.g., machinery used in military conflicts.
Customers can choose to ‘Enable’ or ‘Disable’ our AI features depending on their own internal policy about using AI in their work. By default AI features are enabled. An Account Holder can choose to disable these features for all users on their account by toggling ‘Enable AI Assistant’ on their account page. If you have concerns about the use of AI and are not an account holder, please get in touch with the account holder for your organisation in the first instance. You can read the blog we used to introduce this feature for more information.