10 Free Mobile Accessibility Testing Tools

According to W3C “Mobile accessibility” refers to making websites and applications more accessible to people with disabilities when they are using mobile phones and other devices. WAI’s work in this area addresses accessibility issues of people using a broad range of devices to interact with the web: phones, tablets, TVs, and more.

Accessibility testing on mobile devices can be made easy with the following tools, while automation catches 40% of the bugs we always need to perform manual accessibility audits to make sure that applications are universally designed.

1. Axe for Android – WCAG Accessibility Scanner

   Deque’s Axe for Android Accessibility Service is an automated accessibility analysis tool kit available for analyzing the Accessibility of Android Native and Hybrid applications. Featuring Automated Eventing Stream AND View Hierarchy analysis, it is the most comprehensive Accessibility Suite available for the Android Operating System.

   Axe for Android is similar to Google’s Accessibility Scanner and supports a lot of the same features. It is built for WCAG 2.1 Compliance and backed by the industry leading Accessibility Expertise at Deque, the brains behind axe-core web compliance library.

   Introduction to axe for Android

2. Accessibility Inspector in Xcode
   Apple provides the Accessibility Inspector testing tool that can be launched by choosing Xcode > Open Developer Tool > Accessibility Inspector in the menu bar or Dock. You can download Xcode from the Mac App Store for free. The Accessibility Inspector presents a utility window that displays the information properties (and values), action methods, and position in the accessibility hierarchy of the object currently under the mouse pointer.

   Video Tutorial on using the Accessibility Inspector in Xcode

3. Talk Back for Android
   TalkBack is an Accessibility Service that helps blind and vision-impaired users interact with their devices.
   Talkback adds spoken, audible, and vibration feedback to your device. It is a system application that was pre-installed on most devices and is updated when the accessibility service is improved.
4. VoiceOver for iOS
   VoiceOver is a gesture-based screen reader that lets you enjoy the fun and simplicity of iOS even if you can’t see the screen. With VoiceOver enabled, just triple-click the Home button to access it wherever you are in iOS. Hear a description of everything happening on your screen, from battery level to who’s calling to which app your finger’s on. You can adjust the speaking rate and pitch to suit you.
5. android Accessibility Test Kit
   The AccessibilityChecks class allows you to use your existing test code to test for accessibility issues. As a View is acted upon in tests, checks from the accessibility test framework will be run automatically before proceeding. Simply import the class and add the following line of code to your setup methods annotated with @Before:(Use the above links to get more info)
6. Debugging Firefox for Android over USB
   It’s been possible for a long time to connect the Firefox Developer Tools to Firefox for Android so you can debug your mobile website. Until now, this
   was a fairly complex and error-prone process. From Firefox 36 we’ve made the process much simpler: in particular, you don’t need to deal directly with
   theadbtool at all. Now you connect using
   WebIDE, which takes care of setting up adb behind the scenes. For this to work, you need at least Firefox 36 on the desktop and Firefox 35 on the mobile device.
7. Remote Debugging on Android with Chrome
   Remote debug live content on an Android device from your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer.
   • Set up your Android device for remote debugging, and discover it from your development machine.
   • Inspect and debug live content on your Android device from your development machine.
   • Screencast content from your Android device into DevTools.
8. Accessibility Scanner
   Accessibility Scanner is a tool that suggests accessibility improvements for Android apps without requiring technical skills. Just open the app you want to scan, then tap the Accessibility Scanner button to find items in the app that might benefit from accessibility improvements. You can use this app to suggest changes to developers or to make changes yourself.

   Accessibility Scanner suggests improvements such as enlarging small touch targets, increasing contrast, and providing content descriptions so that your app can be more easily used by individuals with accessibility needs. Designing for accessibility can allow you to reach a larger audience and provide a more inclusive experience.

9. A11Y Tools by Paul J Adam
   A11yTools is a collection of HTML Web Accessibility Testing Tools in one location on your iPhone and iPad for quick and easy Accessibility testing. Run your favorite Accessibility testing tool and easily take a screenshot on your phone showing the a11y error to developers and designers.
10. IOS Color Contrast Checker
    Color Contrast is a tool to measure the contrast between two colors in a screenshot or mobile website, helping ensure your app meets the internationally recognized recommendations in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

    Color Contrast has the following features:
    + Verify that the color contrast between two colors in an app, website or photo is sufficient to pass WCAG 2.0 accessibility guidelines / Section 508.
    + View suggested colors
    + Generate a report that can be shared using SMS, Email or Notes.
    + Verify color contrast directly from Safari and Photos app.

    To use Color Contrast

    • Load an image or website by tapping the icon in the top right corner. The image can be an existing image from the Photo Library or a new picture taken with the camera. Enter a URL to load a mobile website.
    • Move each color picker in turn to select two colors.
      You can also pan around the image by swiping left/right/up/down or pinch to zoom in/out.
    • The Color Contrast results will be displayed at the bottom of the screen.
    • Tap the ‘Share’ icon to create a report that can be emailed, added to notes, copied or saved to your Photo Library.

There are a number of bookmark lets/favelets that also help test for accessibility bugs on responsive design, so please check out our collection of “Bookmarklets for accessibility testing” & also feel free to share any more tools/resources that can be added to the list.

About Raghavendra Satish Peri

Peri as he is fondly called brings in rich experience in Digital Accessibility; He has worked with various clients ranging from Travel & Hospitality, ecommerce, Entertainment, Banking & Finance. Presently, he works at Deque Software as Digital Accessibility Consultant slaying web accessibility & mobile accessibility challenges.