Accessibility

See also:

• SecureDrop contributor guidelines: accessibility

Testing SecureDrop in screen-readers

While individual contributors may also test SecureDrop in the screen-reader of their choice, such as VoiceOver on macOS, Orca should be the standard we test against, since it's part of Tails.

On Qubes

Orca can't be used from dom0 or (therefore) across domains. To install and use Orca in your anon-whonix domain:

1. Whonix workstation template (currently whonix-ws-16):

   user@host:~$ sudo apt update
   user@host:~$ sudo apt install gnome-orca

2. Shut down the template. Start or restart anon-whonix to pick up the template changes.

3. anon-whonix: Start Orca first:

   user@host:~$ orca

   You should hear: Screen reader on.

4. anon-whonix: Start Tor Browser. Orca should begin announcing the Whonix landing page.

Now for the fun part: learn to browse using Orca!

• https://www.a11yproject.com/posts/getting-started-with-orca/
• https://techblog.wikimedia.org/2020/07/02/an-orca-screen-reader-tutorial/
• https://help.gnome.org/users/orca/stable/index.html.en

What to test for

1. How does it sound? (aka WCAG perceivability)

   • Orca "say all": Mod-<Semicolon>
   • Landmarks: M / <Shift>-M (<Alt>-<Shift>-M for list)
   • Headings: H / <Shift>-H

2. Is everything navigable, reachable, operable? (aka WCAG operability)

   • <Tab>/<Enter> your way around!

Recommendations

1. DO add maximal title/aria-label attributes to give each interactable element self-sufficient context (without requiring visual/spatial context from the surrounding block).
2. DON'T micromanage what screen-readers narrate out of the accessibility tree derived from the DOM.