Using TalkBack to Evaluate Web Accessibility

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Introduction

TalkBack is a screen reader that comes installed on Android devices. This article is designed to help new or novice TalkBack users learn how to test web content in mobile Chrome.

The steps to enable and disable TalkBack may vary depending on the device and software version. Go to Settings > Accessibility > TalkBack, then enable the toggle button to activate TalkBack (this may be found in Settings > Accessibility > Vision on some devices). Within the TalkBack settings you will also find the Text-to-speech settings, which allows you to adjust the speech rate and pitch for TalkBack.

In the Accessibility options you can set an accessibility shortcut by going to Settings > Accessibility > Volume key shortcut (also called "Accessibility features shortcut" on some devices) and enable the toggle button next to TalkBack. This shortcut allows us to activate TalkBack by holding down both volume buttons for 3 seconds.

To disable TalkBack, you can do a two-finger triple tap on the home button if the shortcut is enabled, or you can hold the power button until the Phone Options dialog appears then hold down two fingers on the screen until a tone plays. TalkBack can also be suspended by holding both volume buttons for three seconds. In this case, TalkBack may be resumed from notifications or by returning to the lock screen.

Global and Local Context Menus

The global and local context menus allow the user to quickly change the TalkBack settings and controls. The difference between these two menus is that the global context menu contains options that can be applied anywhere on your device, whereas the local context menu contains options relevant to the current content. These menus will be presented as either a list or a circle, depending on your TalkBack settings (this can be changed in the settings). For a more detailed explanation, check out Google's documentation of context menus.

Global Context Menu

To access the global context menu, swipe down then right (in a single motion) while TalkBack is enabled. The items that will be most helpful for navigation and evaluation are the options to read from the top, read from next item, repeat last utterance, and spell last utterance. From this menu, you can also access the TalkBack settings and Text-to-speech settings.

Local Context Menu

To access the local context menu, swipe up then right while TalkBack is enabled. This menu changes based on the content currently on screen. For navigation and evaluation in the Chrome browser, the most useful options will be under Navigation—include Words, Headings, Links, Lines, Special content, Landmarks, and possibly others depending on your preferences. You can also swipe up or down to cycle through these options without opening the menu, and it will announce which option is selected. The "Swipe right" and "Swipe left" gestures will move to the next item based on which option is selected from this menu.

Note

Newer Samsung devices (S10 and newer) have a customized version of TalkBack with different several differences, especially related to the local context menu. If you have one of these devices, use their built-in tutorial to learn these differences.

Navigation

With TalkBack enabled, you can explore the screen by dragging a finger over the screen, and the screen reader will speak each item touched. Touch gestures are available to support different functionality. Many gestures can be used, and these can be customized in the TalkBack settings. All TalkBack gestures use only one finger.

TalkBack provides the following gestures for navigation:

TalkBack Gesture	Action
Swipe right	Move to next item
Swipe left	Move to previous item
Swipe up or down	Cycle through navigation settings (Local Context Menu)
Double tap	Activate selected item
Swipe right then left	Scroll forward
Swipe left then right	Scroll backward
Swipe up then left	Go to Home screen
Swipe down then left	Go back
Swipe up then right	Open Local Context Menu
Swipe down then right	Open Global Context Menu

See the TalkBack guide for a more extensive list. Standard gestures are possible with TalkBack enabled by using two or more fingers to perform the gesture.

Important

Use two or more fingers to perform standard gestures while TalkBack is running. For example, if you normally swipe up with one finger to unlock your phone, swipe with up two fingers.

Evaluation

Evaluating web accessibility on a mobile device is not so different from testing on a desktop browser. The same WCAG requirements that apply to a desktop version of a webpage apply to the mobile version as well. You will also want to test the WCAG 2.1 Input Modalities success criteria on mobile.

Basic testing can be conducted by doing the following:

Enable TalkBack.
Load the web page in the Chrome browser.
Open the global context menu and choose "Read from the top" or "Read from next item".
Change the Local Context Menu option to an element of interest (such as Links, Headings, or Landmarks, Images, etc.).
Swipe right (next element) or left (previous element) to navigate through the selected elements.

To activate an element, such as a link or form control, either navigate to it by swiping or slide your finger over it until it is read, then double tap anywhere on the screen. Typing text can be done by sliding your finger to a character in the on-screen keyboard, then lifting your finger once the letter or symbol is announced. To change this behavior, Go to Talkback (in your accessibility settings), select Settings, and enable Single-tap typing.

It is advisable to also conduct TalkBack testing with a Bluetooth keyboard to ensure the content or application supports mobile keyboard accessibility. It is also useful to test without looking at the screen to ensure a more authentic experience.