Building Accessible Mobile Apps: Automating WCAG and EAA Compliance in Practice

About the customer

OneSpan is a publicly traded cybersecurity company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with major offices in Montreal, Brussels, Bordeaux, Vienna, and additional locations worldwide. The company specializes in digital identity, cybersecurity, and fraud prevention technologies. It offers a cloud-based platform with an open architecture designed to prevent and detect digital fraud, including solutions for multi-factor authentication and electronic signatures. OneSpan is also a member of the FIDO Alliance Board and has been one of our key long-term clients.

Project Background

Mobile accessibility is not an abstract compliance topic anymore. It directly affects user experience of mobile products, addressing problems that users with various disabilities may encounter.

As more services move from the web to mobile apps, ensuring equal access becomes a fundamental requirement. Accessibility directly affects how a person interacts with content, data, links, and features within a digital product.

Poor design decisions can unintentionally create barriers, excluding users from essential services, education, communication, or work. Following recognized accessibility standards, such as WCAG, helps prevent these issues and supports more inclusive design.

Business challenges and needs

Mobile applications must support users with different types of disabilities while remaining intuitive and easy to use. Common accessibility barriers include:

Visual impairments

• Missing description of images or form fields
• Incorrect content structure
• Low visual contrast of elements of the view
• Incorrect application behavior with zoom
• Elements not accessible with assistive technology

Hearing impairments

• Lack of subtitles, where needed
• Relying on sounds to present information, like instructions
• Low audio quality
• Lack of controls, like speed or volume

Motor and dexterity limitations

• Content not accessible using keyboard or gestures
• Small buttons (tap target)
• Interfaces that require precise motions
• Forms with time limit

Cognitive and learning disabilities

• Complex language or terminology
• Inconsistent application interface and/or navigation
• Surprise content changes within the application
• Animated elements that cannot be stopped
• Flashing lights
• Elements not accessible with assistive technology

Architectural and design decisions impact whether applications work reliably with assistive technologies such as screen readers, dynamic font scaling, or switch controls. Accessibility tools often reveal design debt, UI inconsistency, and hidden quality risks that may later become customer complaints or regulatory issues.

Solution

The accessible design of modern mobile applications focuses on removing obstacles that people with visual, motor, hearing, or cognitive disabilities may face. This requires adhering to WCAG standards throughout the development process.

Key accessibility features include:

• Screen readers (VoiceOver for iOS, TalkBack for Android)
• High-contrast modes
• Screen magnification
• Alternative text for images
• Custom gestures
• Larger hit targets for buttons
• Switch device compatibility
• Captions
• Audio and video transcripts
• Visual alerts for sounds
• Clear and predictable layouts
• Consistent navigation
• Reduced distractions

Accessibility testing can be incorporated into development and QA workflows through a combination of manual and automated approaches.

iOS

Accessibility Inspector
• Evaluates application behavior with VoiceOver and other accessibility features
• Reveals accessibility labels, traits, focusability, and reading order
• Identifies missing labels, incorrect focus order, broken dynamic updates, and touch target issues

SwiftLint Accessibility Rules
• Accessibility-focused rules can detect missing labels, duplicated labels, missing accessibility traits, insufficient button sizes, and incorrectly exposed background images
• Checks can be configured as warnings or build-breaking errors

Automated Accessibility Audit
• Executed directly within end-to-end automation
• Detects common accessibility issues such as missing labels, insufficient contrast, and inaccessible controls
• Can be integrated into CI/CD pipelines to ensure regular accessibility validation

Android

Accessibility Scanner
• Analyzes on-screen content during application use
• Generates reports highlighting accessibility issues
• Supports manual testing and pre-release reviews

Compose UI Check
• Provides accessibility feedback during development
• Supports validation of individual Jetpack Compose screens

Accessibility Test Framework (ATF)
• Identifies structural accessibility issues
• Supports both XML-based views and Jetpack Compose

Linter
• Detects basic accessibility issues such as missing content descriptions
• Provides continuous feedback during development

Embedding accessibility checks into existing development and QA workflows allows developers to receive fast feedback and address issues at the same time as functional defects.

Business impact

Architectural and design decisions that support accessibility provide tangible benefits for different user groups.

For all users

• Clearer layouts and more readable text across lighting conditions
• Larger and more convenient touch targets
• Interfaces that remain stable as content size or orientation changes

For users with disabilities

• Full access to application functionality through assistive technologies
• Content that remains usable when text size, contrast, or interaction methods are adjusted
• Reduced cognitive load through consistent navigation and meaningful labels
• Independence in completing tasks without requiring assistance

From an organizational perspective, accessibility testing works best when embedded into existing development and QA workflows. Accessibility issues can be detected earlier, reducing rework and helping teams scale quality as applications grow in complexity.

In the long run, investing in accessibility extends beyond regulatory compliance. Accessible mobile applications are more resilient, easier to maintain, and better aligned with real user needs.

By incorporating automated checks into delivery pipelines, developers can receive feedback earlier, fix issues before deployment, and save development time and costs.

Mobile accessibility should be treated as an integral part of overall product quality rather than a separate compliance exercise. Combining automated checks with targeted manual testing creates a safety net that significantly reduces risk.

Client Quote