Accessibility stats
Almost half of all people with a mobile phone use accessibility features. Much more than you would expect, right? In our survey of millions of iOS and Android users in the Netherlands, we looked at which accessibility features are enabled.
iOS
Almost half of the Dutch iOS users surveyed have one or more accessibility settings activated on their phone.
What is more, a large group even uses two or more accessibility features on iOS.
Android
More than half of the Dutch Android users surveyed have one or more accessibility settings activated on their phone.
Also on Android, a large group even uses two or more accessibility features.
Visual settings
The study shows that visual settings are changed most frequently in mobile applications. Note: these support functions are not only used by people with a visual impairment. For example, it can be useful to increase the contrast of the screen in full sunlight. Also, if you are looking at your screen for an extended period of time, turning on dark mode makes it a lot easier on the eyes.
Visual features on iOS
have turned on dark mode on iOS.
Many people make their fonts larger on iOS.
use zoom on iOS.
The metric for display size on iOS is not available at the moment.
More about display sizeturn on bold text on iOS.
select an increased color contrast on iOS.
have turned off the transparency setting on iOS.
The metric for color blind mode is not available on iOS at the moment.
More about color blind modeinvert colors on iOS.
Visual features on Android
have turned on dark mode on Android.
Many people make their font-size larger on Android.
use magnification on Android.
increase display size on Android.
turn on bold text on Android.
The metric for high contrast text on Android will soon become available.
More about color contrastThe setting to turn off transparency is not available on Android.
More about transparencyuse color blind mode on Android.
invert colors on Android.
Audio settings
Closed captions and other audio settings are indispensable for people who are deaf or have difficulty hearing. But closed captions are also handy when watching a video in a noisy environment, or if Dutch is not your first language.
Audio features on Android
The metric for mono audio on Android will soon become available.
More about mono audiohave closed captions on by default on Android.
Speech settings
If you are unable to look at your screen for whatever reason, speech settings help you absorb the information in another way. But the read-aloud feature can also be helpful if you have difficulty reading written text.
Speech features on iOS
use speak selection on iOS.
use the speak screen feature on iOS.
use voiceover on iOS.
The metric for Voice Control on iOS will soon become available.
More about voice controlSpeech features on Android
use select to speak on Android.
The speak screen feature is not available on Android.
More about speak screenuse Talkback on Android.
use Voice Access on Android.
Other striking results
In addition to the findings set out above, we also discovered some that are not also easily categorised. These findings emphasise the importance of paying sufficient attention to accessibility. For example, many Dutch people have activated settings that make their phones somewhat less sensitive. They may do this because they have a medical condition and are unable to keep their hands still, or when they are in a rattling, overcrowded bus.
Striking results on iOS
have turned off shake to undo on iOS.
The metric for disabling the automatic screen rotation is not available on iOS.
More about screen orientation landscapeuse Switch Control on iOS.
Striking results on Android
The setting to turn off shake to undo is not available on Android.
More about shake to undohave their screen in landscape mode per default on Android.
use Switch Access on Android.
Accountability and more info
This data is collected anonymously via an open source library of digital product studio Q42. This library (a small piece of software) has been added to various apps in consultation with clients to check which accessibility options users have activated. The survey is now conducted among five million users.
No personal data is collected or processed. The data collected are generic properties and settings of mobile devices. In the processing no data is collected or generated that can be traced back to a person.
Want to collect your own data on the use of accessibility features in your app? In the article Gather your own accessibility data, we explain how to do this.
You can also incorporate all these numbers into your own story or presentation. Download the most recent numbers in a format of your choice.
If you have any questions or want to know more about this, please contact Johan Huijkman of Q42: johan@q42.nl.