Accessibility Label

The accessibilityLabel is the text that assistive technology reads when the component is focused and AMA requires it by tappable elements.

Expectation

Assistive Technology: Screen Reader

• When: The user focuses the component
  • Then: The Screen Reader reads out the label

When a component has the accessibility label, it is the first information the screen reader reads when it gains the focus. For instance, with a button, as soon as it receives focus, the screen reader will initially announce its accessibility label. It will then follow up by describing the button's role and state to give the user a comprehensive understanding of the element's function.

This is especially crucial for icon-only buttons, where the control lacks textual labels. In such cases, the accessibility label serves as the primary means of conveying the button's purpose to the user via the screen reader. Without it, the button's function would be unclear, making the app less accessible.

Example

<Pressable
  onPress={contactUs}
  accessibilityRole="button"
  accessibilityLabel="Contact us"
>
  Contact us
</Pressable>

Voice Over	Talkback
Contact us, button, double tap to activate	Contact us, button, double tap to activate	Good

No Accessibility Label

• Severity: Serious

The problem

Let's consider the following example:

<Pressable onPress={contactUs} accessibilityRole="button">
  Contact us
</Pressable>

When testing the button with both VoiceOver and TalkBack, they both read:

Voice Over	Talkback
button, Contact us, double tap to activate	button, Contact us, double tap to activate	Wrong

The accessibilityRole is announced, and then the inner text is read, if any.

caution

While the screen reader's ability to read out text might seem sufficient, it's crucial for the app's accessibility to align with the expectations of the underlying operating system, whether it's iOS or Android. On both platforms, the standard behaviour for screen readers is to announce the label first. Failing to meet this expectation can create an inconsistent and confusing user experience.

Icon only buttons

• Severity: Critical

<Pressable onPress={goBack} accessibilityRole="button">
  <SVGIcon />
</Pressable>

When testing the button with both VoiceOver and TalkBack, they both read:

Voice Over	Talkback
button, double tap to activate	button, double tap to activate	Wrong

Here the assistive technology only reads the role and the action that can be performed with the component. So there is a complete lack of helpful information about what we're going to trigger.

Let's fix it

// 1.
<Pressable onPress={contactUs} accessibilityRole="button" accessibilityLabel="Contact US">
    Contact us
</Pressable>

// 2.
<Pressable onPress={goBack} accessibilityRole="button" accessibilityLabel="Go back">
    <SVGIcon />
</Pressable>

When testing with the assistive technology, this happens:

Voice Over	Talkback
Contact us, button, double tap to activate	Contact us,button, double tap to activate	Good
Go back, button, double tap to activate	Go back,button, double tap to activate	Good

The accessibilityLabel is announced first, then the role and the action that can be performed at the end.

For this reason, AMA requires that tappable elements have the accessibilityLabel defined.

All CAPS Accessibility Label

• Severity: Warning

Screen readers may interpret capital letters as acronyms, misinterpreting content.

Example: ADD TO THE CART

<Pressable accessibilityLabel="ADD TO THE CART">...</Pressable>

This is how the different screen readers handle the uppercase label:

Voice Over	Talkback
A-D-D to the cart	Add to the cart	Wrong

In this case, VoiceOver does the spelling of the word ADD while talkback reads it correctly. The remaining words are read correctly by both screen readers.

Example: CONTACT US

Voice Over	Talkback
Contact U.S.	Contact U.S.	Wrong

The word CONTACT is read correctly, but both screen readers spell the word US as it is interpreted as U.S. for `United States.

AMA dev runtime errors

NO_ACCESSIBILITY_LABEL MUST

This error is used when a pressable element has no accessibilityLabel defined.

note

This rule is mandatory and cannot be turned off!

NO_UPPERCASE_TEXT SHOULD

This is used when a component has the accessibilityLabel prop in all caps.

tip

Is it possible to specify a list of allowed all caps accessibility labels, more info here

Related AMA components

• ExpandablePressable
• Pressable
• TouchableOpacity
• TouchableWithoutFeedback

External resources

Some helpful resources about accessibility and all caps.

• http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/67454/how-does-capitalization-affect-readability