Overview
According to WebAIM’s Screen Reader Survey #10 Results (2024), 91% of screen reader users are now using mobile devices. Of those, 71% are using an Apple device, while 28% are using Android. Both of these platforms come equipped with a wide variety of accessibility features, but like all technologies, they only work if developers create apps and content that conform with accessibility standards and best practices. Both Apple and Google provide extensive documentation to help developers create accessible applications on their platforms:
For website designers, developers, and content authors, most of the web accessibility issues described throughout our Digital Accessibility Checklist website apply to all web pages, regardless of whether they’re accessed on a desktop computer or on the smaller screen of a phone, tablet, or other device. However, there are a few web accessibility issues that are unique to mobile devices.
The W3C has created a resource Mobile Accessibility: How WCAG 2.0 and Other W3C/WAI Guidelines Apply to Mobile, which provides extensive detail on how to apply various WCAG success criteria to the mobile web.
In addition, WCAG 2.1 introduced four new Level A and AA success criteria related specifically to mobile devices. They’re listed below under “WCAG 2.1 success criteria”.
Another excellent resource is MDN’s Mobile Accessibility Checklist, a concise checklist of accessibility requirements for mobile developers, which they continue to update as standards and best practices evolve.
WCAG 2.1 success criteria
The issues described on this page, and associated Techniques pages, map to the following success criteria in the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1:
- 1.3.4 Orientation (Level AA)
- 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures (Level A)
- 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation (Level A)
- 2.5.4 Motion Actuation (Level A)