Screen Reader User Survey #8 Results

Introduction

In August - September 2019, WebAIM surveyed preferences of screen reader users. We received 1224 valid responses. This was a follow-up to 7 previous surveys that were conducted between January 2009 and October 2017.

A few disclaimers and notices:

• Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding.
• Total responses (n) for each question may not equal 1224 due to respondents not answering that particular question.
• The sample was not controlled and may not represent all screen reader users.
• We hope to conduct additional surveys of this nature again in the future. If you have recommendations or questions you would like us to ask, please contact us.

Demographics

Nearly 25% of respondents rely at least partially on the visual components when using a screen reader. 79.5% of those with disabilities rely exclusively on audio, compared to only 7.4% of those without disabilities (primarily testers). This is not entirely unexpected, but does indicate significant differences in usage between those with disabilities and those without disabilities.

Only 0.6% of those with disabilities rely exclusively on the visual output—many of these reported having cognitive or learning disabilities.

Screen Reader Devices

On which of the following devices do you use a screen reader?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Desktop computer	826	67.5%
Laptop	1027	83.9%
Mobile device/Tablet	1056	86.3%

Level of Employment

Please indicate your current level of employment.

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Employed full time	566	46.8%
Not employed	210	17.4%
Employed part time	157	13.0%
Student or too young for employment	150	12.4%
Retired	126	10.4%

Primary Screen Reader

Which of the following is your primary desktop/laptop screen reader?

Screen Reader	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
NVDA	493	40.6%
JAWS	487	40.1%
VoiceOver	157	12.9%
ZoomText/Fusion	24	2.0%
System Access or SA To Go	12	1.0%
Narrator	12	1.0%
ChromeVox	7	0.6%
Other	22	1.8%

The following chart shows historical trends for primary screen reader usage.

For the first time since 2009, JAWS is not the most common primary screen reader reported, with NVDA now having slightly higher usage.

There are three primary players—JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver. Usage of all other screen readers has steadily declined—taken together they only account for 6.4%. For survey simplicity, infrequently used screen readers were not offered as response options.

Respondents with disabilities are more likely to use JAWS and NVDA and less likely to use VoiceOver as their primary screen reader than respondents without disabilities. 9.8% of respondents with disabilities use VoiceOver, compared to 34.9% of respondents without disabilities.

Respondents employed full or part time were more likely to us JAWS than other respondents. NVDA users reported higher levels of screen reader proficiency than users of other screen readers.

Screen Readers Commonly Used

Which of the following desktop/laptop screen readers do you commonly use?

Screen Reader	% of Respondents
NVDA	72.4%
JAWS	61.7%
VoiceOver	47.1%
Narrator	30.3%
ZoomText/Fusion	5.5%
ChromeVox	4.7%
SA or SA To Go	3.5%
Window-Eyes	1.2%
Other	6.0%

Usage of NVDA, VoiceOver, and Narrator continue to increase, with JAWS usage down slightly. NVDA is now the most commonly used screen reader among survey respondents. Notably, Narrator—freely available in Windows for several years—is the primary screen reader of only 1% of respondents, but commonly used by 30.3% of respondents (up from 21.4% in 2017).

72.5% of respondents use more than one desktop/laptop screen reader. This was up from 53% in July 2015 and 68% in 2017. 41% use three or more, and 16% use four or more different screen readers. VoiceOver users most commonly use additional screen readers, which is notable since the other screen readers run almost exclusively on Windows.

Browsers

When using your primary screen reader, which browser do you use most often?

Browser	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Chrome	537	44.4%
Firefox	331	27.4%
Internet Explorer 11	132	10.9%
Safari	118	9.8%
Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8	26	2.1%
Microsoft Edge	23	1.9%
Internet Explorer 9 or 10	18	1.5%
Other	25	2.1%

Chrome usage among respondents nearly tripled in the last 22 months, making it the most popular browser. Firefox usage decreased sharply. Internet Explorer usage continued to decline, but it is still used by 14.5% of respondents, making it more commonly used than Safari (9.8%). Many respondents reported still using very old versions of Internet Explorer - there were more users of IE6, 7, or 8 than of Microsoft Edge.

Screen Reader / Browser Combinations

There are many combinations in use, with JAWS with Chrome the most common, followed closely by NVDA with Firefox and NVDA with Chrome.

Operating System

Operating System

Operating System	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Windows	882	72.1%
iOS	165	13.5%
Apple	116	9.5%
Android	47	3.8%
Linux	13	1.1%
Other	1	.1%

Operating system data above was detected from the system used to complete the survey. Respondents without disabilities were almost 6 times more likely to use Apple than respondents with disabilities, whereas users with disabilities were more likely to respond using iOS devices.

JavaScript

JavaScript Enabled

Response	% of Respondents
Yes	99.3%
No	.7%

JavaScript support was detected with the survey form submission. Nearly all respondents had JavaScript enabled.

How Obtained

How did you obtain your primary desktop/laptop screen reader?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
I downloaded it free of charge from the Internet	447	37.0%
I bought it myself	274	22.7%
It was provided to me by my employer	157	13.0%
It came with my computer or operating system	146	12.1%
It was received through a government program	134	11.1%
I'm using a pirated version of a commercial screen reader	17	1.4%
It was provided to me by my school	13	1.1%
I'm using a trial version of a commercial screen reader	3	0.2%
Other	18	1.5%

Reason for Use

What is the main reason for using your primary screen reader?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Existing Comfort/Expertise	466	38.9%
Features	340	28.4%
Availability	177	14.8%
Cost	145	12.1%
Support	70	5.8%

The reasons cited have remained largely consistent since our 2012 survey.

Mobile Screen Readers

Web Accessibility Progress

Which of the following best describes your feelings regarding the accessibility of web content over the previous year?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Web content has become more accessible	481	40.0%
Web content accessibility has not changed	500	41.6%
Web content has become less accessible	221	18.4%

Respondents have a slightly less positive perception of the state of web accessibility now than they did in 2017. Respondents without disabilities tend to be more positive about recent progress (47.2% thought it has become more accessible) than those with disabilities (39% thought it has become more accessible).

Reasons for Inaccessibility

Which of the following do you think is the primary reason that many developers do not create accessible web sites?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Lack of awareness of web accessibility	461	38.0%
Lack of web accessibility skills or knowledge	414	34.1%
Fear that accessibility will hinder the look, feel, or functionality	224	18.5%
Lack of budget or resources to make it accessible	115	9.5%

Respondents this year were more likely to indicate lack of web accessibility skills or knowledge (34.1% compared to 26.6% in 2015) as the primary reason for inaccessibility than on previous surveys.

Customization

How customized are your screen reader settings? (changed verbosity, installed scripts, etc.)

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Very customized	349	28.7%
Somewhat customized	503	41.3%
Slightly customized	271	22.3%
Not customized	94	7.7%

The majority of respondents customize their screen reader settings. NVDA users customize more than JAWS users, who customize more than VoiceOver users.

Text-only or Screen Reader Versions

If a text-only or screen reader version of a web site is available, how often do you use it?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Whenever one is available	263	22.1%
Often	160	13.5%
Sometimes	226	19.0%
Seldom	284	23.9%
Never	255	21.5%

45.4% of respondents reported they seldom or never access text-only or screen reader versions, compared to 29.3% of respondents reporting this in 2014. The fact that so many users do not use such versions suggests that this approach to accessibility is not optimal.

Landmarks/Regions

How often do you navigate by landmarks/regions in your screen reader?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Whenever they're available	158	13.2%
Often	160	13.4%
Sometimes	367	30.7%
Seldom	276	23.1%
Never	233	19.5%

The frequent use of landmarks and regions has continually decreased from 43.8% in 2014, to 38.6% in 2015, to 30.5% in 2017, to 26.6% on this survey. It's difficult to know the reasons for this. It could be due to infrequent or improper usage of landmarks/regions in pages. Or perhaps because other mechanisms are continually better.

Finding Information

When trying to find information on a lengthy web page, which of the following are you most likely to do first?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Navigate through the headings on the page	830	68.8%
Use the "Find" feature	189	15.7%
Navigate through the links of the page	68	5.6%
Navigate through the landmarks/regions of the page	35	2.9%
Read through the page	85	7.0%

Navigating headings remains the predominant method for finding page information. While 26.6% of respondents indicate that they always or often use landmarks when they are present, only 2.9% use this method for finding information on a lengthy web page. Those with advanced screen reader proficiency are much more likely to use headings (75%) than those with beginner proficiency (45%), who are more likely to read through the page or use the "Find" feature.

Heading Levels

When navigating a web page by headings, how useful are the heading levels (e.g., "Heading 1", "Heading 2", etc.) to you?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Very Useful	625	52.2%
Somewhat Useful	406	33.9%
Not Very Useful	104	8.7%
Not At All Useful	28	2.3%
I Don't Know	34	2.8%

The usefulness of proper heading structures is very high, with 86.1% of respondents finding heading levels very or somewhat useful.

WCAG Conformance

What percentage of web sites do you think meet international accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1 A/AA conformance)?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Less than 5%	166	13.9%
5% - 10%	152	12.7%
10% - 20%	198	16.5%
20% - 50%	172	14.4%
More than 50%	89	7.4%
I Don't Know	420	35.1%

While 35.1% of respondents didn't know or offer an answer, those that did answer provided very mixed responses. Most believe the majority of pages do not meet WCAG guidelines. We know from the WebAIM Million analysis that the conformance rate for home pages is no higher than 2%.

Screen Reader Detection

How comfortable would you be with allowing web sites (and thus web site owners) to detect whether you are using a screen reader?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Very Comfortable	471	39.2%
Somewhat Comfortable	280	23.3%
Not Very Comfortable	172	14.3%
Not At All Comfortable	217	18.1%
I Don't Know	61	5.1%

Respondents are predominantly comfortable with allowing screen reader detection by web sites. However, this favorability has decreased over time - 78.4% of respondents to this question in 2014 were very or somewhat comfortable with allowing screen reader detection, compared to 62.5% in 2019. Respondents with disabilities were significantly more likely to be favorable of detection than respondents without disabilities.

This relevant article may be of interest - Why Screen Reader Detection on the Web is a Bad Thing.

How comfortable would you be with allowing web sites (and thus web site owners) to detect whether you are using a screen reader if doing so resulted in a more accessible experience?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Very Comfortable	631	53.2%
Somewhat Comfortable	234	19.7%
Not Very Comfortable	129	10.9%
Not At All Comfortable	149	12.6%
I Don't Know	42	3.5%

Comfort with screen reader detection increases notably when respondents believe this detection would improve their experience. Historically, there has generally been resistance to web technologies that would detect assistive technologies - primarily due to privacy concerns and fear of discrimination. These responses clearly indicate that the majority of users are comfortable with revealing their usage of assistive technologies, especially if it results in a more accessible experience.

Multiple Languages

Do you understand and have your screen reader set to read more than one language?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Yes	493	40.6%
No	721	59.4%

There were notable differences in language settings across geographical regions - 77.1% of respondents from Africa or the Middle East, 75% from Asia, 66.7% from South America, and 65.3% from Europe have their screen readers set to read more than one language, compared to 22.4% of respondents from North America.

PDF Issues

How likely is it that PDF documents will pose significant accessibility issues to you?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Very Likely	441	36.8%
Somewhat Likely	459	38.3%
Somewhat Unlikely	147	12.3%
Very Unlikely	112	9.4%
I Don't Know	38	3.2%

The vast majority (75.1%) of respondents indicate that PDF document are very or somewhat likely to pose significant accessibility issues.

Word Issues

How likely is it that Microsoft Word documents will pose significant accessibility issues to you?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
Very Likely	113	9.5%
Somewhat Likely	254	21.4%
Somewhat Unlikely	322	27.2%
Very Unlikely	443	37.4%
I Don't Know	54	4.6%

Respondents were much more favorable of Word documents than of PDF documents - 30.9% indicated that Word documents are very or somewhat likely to pose significant accessibility issues, compared to 75.1% for PDF documents.