Rules

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Learn more about the accessibility rules supported within axe DevTools for iOS. Below you'll find brief descriptions of each rule along with the link to the original guidelines. Rules come from three sources:

  1. WCAG Success Criterion
  2. Platform Guideline - defined by Apple
  3. Best Practice - defined by Accessibility Experts at Deque

In the navigation bar under Rules & Remediation, you'll find detailed information on each rule, including resolution tips. View this guide for impact rating and descriptions. Some rules will be marked with an experimental badge. Learn more about experimental rules and how you can help improve them.

tip

Throughout our rules documentation, you'll find references to Name, Role, and Value. Please refer to WCAG's definitions.

Rule Overview

important

Colliding Views and Color Contrast rules use a trained computer vision algorithm. These types of rules will only show results from views rendered on the screen at the time of the scan.

Are you using the UIKit framework? Some rules, highlighted in the table below, require Accessibility Inspector or an Assistive Technology (VoiceOver, Switch Control, etc.) to detect issues properly. Learn how to load the accessibility layer here.

Rule & Description Guidelines Impact Requires Accessibility Layer
Accessibility Element Focus Box

A11y Element Focus Box
Every VoiceOver element that is focusable should be within the VoiceOver focus box.

Best Practice Moderate
Active Control Name

Active Control Name
Active controls such as buttons, switches, and more, require text made available to VoiceOver.

WCAG 2.0 - 4.1.2 A Critical
Associated Text

Associated Text  Experimental Rule
A control should get its name from a nearby label.

WCAG 2.0 - 1.3.1 A Critical or Serious
Colliding Controls

Colliding Controls
Active controls should not have intersecting bounds.

Platform Guideline Moderate
Colliding Views

Colliding Views
Informative views should not overlap with another view.

Platform Guideline Minor
Color Contrast

Color Contrast
Text elements should adequately contrast with their background.

WCAG 2.0 - 1.4.3 AA Serious
Conflicting Traits

Conflicting Traits
Elements should not have conflicting accessibility traits.

Platform Guideline Critical
Focusable Text

Focusable Text
Text elements should be focusable with VoiceOver.

WCAG 2.0 - 1.3.2 A Critical
ImageView Name

ImageView Name
Images that provide information should have a name.

WCAG 2.0 - 1.1.1 A Critical
In ScrollView

In ScrollView
Visible text should be within a scrollable view.

WCAG 2.0 - 1.4.4 AA Serious
Inaccessible Action

Inaccessible Action  Experimental Rule
An element that is an active control or contains an active control must have an action that can be activated using Assistive Technology.

WCAG 2.0 - 2.1.1 A Critical
Label At Front

Label At Front
Any active controls with visible text should have a name beginning with that text.

WCAG 2.1 - 2.5.3 Best Practice Minor
Label In Name

Label In Name
Any active controls with visible text should have that exact text within its name.

WCAG 2.1 - 2.5.3 A Serious
Meaningful Accessible Name

Meaningful Accessible Name
An element's accessible name should not include its accessibility trait.

Platform Guideline Minor
Nested Active Controls

Nested Active Controls
Multiple active controls should not be nested within an accessibility element.

WCAG 2.0 - 2.1.1 A Critical
Nested Elements Name

Nested Elements Name
Text within an accessibility element should be read by VoiceOver.

WCAG 2.0 - 1.3.2 A Critical
Screen Orientation

Screen Orientation
Applications should support portrait and landscape orientations.

WCAG 2.1 - 1.3.4 AA Serious
Screen Title

Screen Title
Each screen in an application should have a title.

WCAG 2.0 - 2.4.2 A Moderate
Supports Dynamic Type

Supports Dynamic Type  Experimental Rule
Visible text should support resizing based on device settings.

Platform Guideline Critical
Touch Target Size

Touch Target Size
All active controls should be a minimum of 44pt by 44pt.

WCAG 2.1 - 2.5.5 AAA Moderate
Touch Target Spacing

Touch Target Spacing
All active controls should have a minimum of 24pt by 24pt tappable area.

WCAG 2.2 - 2.5.8 AA Moderate

axeDevToolsXCUI and SwiftUI Support

SwiftUI is supported only in axeDevToolsXCUI. The below rules cannot be violated within SwiftUI views and will not run:

  • A11yElementFocusBox

Support for the following rules in axeDevToolsXCUI is under research/development:

  • Inaccessible Action
  • Nested Active Controls
  • Supports Dynamic Type