What are screen readers?
A screen reader is software that makes digital content accessible to blind and visually impaired people. It reproduces the screen content both via voice output and in Braille, so that information can be perceived in auditory and tactile ways. This enables people with visual impairments to operate and use computers, smartphones and other digital devices independently.
How do screen readers work?
Screen readers access the user interface and its structured information via the application programming interfaces (APIs) of the respective operating system. They analyse the semantic structure of an application or website, recognise elements (such as buttons, links, texts, etc.) as well as stored labels, states and values. The determined content is output both via voice output, in which a synthetic voice reads the text aloud, and via a Braille display, which displays the text in Braille. This allows blind or severely visually impaired people to perceive information both auditorily and tactilely at the same time.
Navigation is done via the keyboard on desktop computers and using touch gestures on mobile devices. With the help of special screen reader commands, users can jump to specific elements, call up lists of links or headings, or continuously play back longer content without any visual orientation. For efficient use, the content must be designed to be accessible.
Well-known screen readers
- JAWS (Windows, commercial)
- NVDA (Windows, free)
- VoiceOver (macOS and iOS, integrated)
- TalkBack (Android, integrated)