WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

Screen Reader User Survey #8 Results

Introduction

In August - September 2019, WebAIM surveyed preferences of screen reader users. We received 1224 valid responses. This was a follow-up to 7 previous surveys that were conducted between January 2009 and October 2017.

A few disclaimers and notices:

  • Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding.
  • Total responses (n) for each question may not equal 1224 due to respondents not answering that particular question.
  • The sample was not controlled and may not represent all screen reader users.
  • We hope to conduct additional surveys of this nature again in the future. If you have recommendations or questions you would like us to ask, please contact us.

Demographics

Region

Respondent Region
Region# of Respondents% of Respondents
North America69558.0%
Europe/UK32427.0%
Asia695.8%
Australia and Oceania342.8%
Africa/Middle East352.9%
South America363.0%
Central America and Caribbean50.4%

This survey had more respondents outside North America than previous surveys, thus providing better representation of the global screen reader user audience.

Age

Please indicate your age.
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
0-201169.5%
21-4055745.5%
41-6036429.7%
61+18815.3%

Disability

Do you use a screen reader due to a disability?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Yes106487.6%
No15012.4%

In general, responses are very similar between respondents with and without disabilities. Any notable differences are detailed below to help us determine differences in practices or perceptions between the disability and the developer communities.

Disability Types

Which of the following disabilities do you have?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Blindness93076.0%
Low Vision/Visually-Impaired22618.5%
Cognitive423.3%
Deafness/Hard-of-Hearing746.0%
Motor242.0%
Other453.7%

193 respondents (15.8%) reported multiple disabilities. 58 respondents (4.7%) reported being both deaf and blind.

Screen Reader Proficiency

Please rate your screen reader proficiency
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Advanced75562.2%
Intermediate39332.4%
Beginner655.4%

Those who use screen readers due to a disability reported themselves as more proficient with screen readers—68.2% of those with disabilities considered their proficiency to be "Advanced" compared to only 21.5% of those without disabilities.

Internet Proficiency

Please rate your proficiency using the Internet
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Advanced91976%
Intermediate27622.8%
Beginner151.2%

Reported proficiency on this survey was higher than all previous surveys, perhaps suggesting that screen reader users are becoming more accustomed to using the internet. Those without disabilities rate themselves as more proficient than those with disabilities.

Screen Reader Usage

Which of the following most accurately describes your screen reader usage?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
I exclusively rely on screen reader audio85071.3%
I primarily rely on screen reader audio, but also use visual content14011.7%
I primarily rely on visual content, but also use screen reader audio1159.6%
I exclusively rely on visual content403.4%
I primarily rely on Braille output473.9%

Note

We neglected to ask about usage of Braille in combination with visual or audio outputs. Many respondents indicating using a combination of Braille and visual and/or audio output.

Nearly 25% of respondents rely at least partially on the visual components when using a screen reader. 79.5% of those with disabilities rely exclusively on audio, compared to only 7.4% of those without disabilities (primarily testers). This is not entirely unexpected, but does indicate significant differences in usage between those with disabilities and those without disabilities.

Only 0.6% of those with disabilities rely exclusively on the visual output—many of these reported having cognitive or learning disabilities.

Screen Reader Devices

On which of the following devices do you use a screen reader?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Desktop computer82667.5%
Laptop102783.9%
Mobile device/Tablet105686.3%

Level of Employment

Please indicate your current level of employment.
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Employed full time56646.8%
Not employed21017.4%
Employed part time15713.0%
Student or too young for employment15012.4%
Retired12610.4%

88.5% of survey respondents that do not have a disability are employed full time, compared to 40.6% of respondents that do have a disability. This is significantly higher than the 29.5% employment rate for individuals with significant vision loss reported by the NFB in 2016. This may be due to differences in our samples.

Primary Screen Reader

Which of the following is your primary desktop/laptop screen reader?
Screen Reader# of Respondents% of Respondents
NVDA49340.6%
JAWS48740.1%
VoiceOver15712.9%
ZoomText/Fusion242.0%
System Access or SA To Go121.0%
Narrator121.0%
ChromeVox70.6%
Other221.8%

The following chart shows historical trends for primary screen reader usage.

Line chart of primary screen reader usage since October 2009. JAWS has steady decline from 68% to 40%. NVDA has steady incline from 3% to 41%. VoiceOver has a slow incline from 10% to 13%.

For the first time since 2009, JAWS is not the most common primary screen reader reported, with NVDA now having slightly higher usage.

There are three primary players—JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver. Usage of all other screen readers has steadily declined—taken together they only account for 6.4%. For survey simplicity, infrequently used screen readers were not offered as response options.

Respondents with disabilities are more likely to use JAWS and NVDA and less likely to use VoiceOver as their primary screen reader than respondents without disabilities. 9.8% of respondents with disabilities use VoiceOver, compared to 34.9% of respondents without disabilities.

Respondents employed full or part time were more likely to us JAWS than other respondents. NVDA users reported higher levels of screen reader proficiency than users of other screen readers.

Screen Readers Commonly Used

Which of the following desktop/laptop screen readers do you commonly use?
Screen Reader% of Respondents
NVDA72.4%
JAWS61.7%
VoiceOver47.1%
Narrator30.3%
ZoomText/Fusion5.5%
ChromeVox4.7%
SA or SA To Go3.5%
Window-Eyes1.2%
Other6.0%

Chart of screen reader usage showing steady increase in usage of NVDA and VoiceOver, and decrease in usage of JAWS and other screen readers.

Usage of NVDA, VoiceOver, and Narrator continue to increase, with JAWS usage down slightly. NVDA is now the most commonly used screen reader among survey respondents. Notably, Narrator—freely available in Windows for several years—is the primary screen reader of only 1% of respondents, but commonly used by 30.3% of respondents (up from 21.4% in 2017).

72.5% of respondents use more than one desktop/laptop screen reader. This was up from 53% in July 2015 and 68% in 2017. 41% use three or more, and 16% use four or more different screen readers. VoiceOver users most commonly use additional screen readers, which is notable since the other screen readers run almost exclusively on Windows.

Browsers

When using your primary screen reader, which browser do you use most often?
Browser# of Respondents% of Respondents
Chrome53744.4%
Firefox33127.4%
Internet Explorer 1113210.9%
Safari1189.8%
Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8262.1%
Microsoft Edge231.9%
Internet Explorer 9 or 10181.5%
Other252.1%

Line chart of primary browser usage showing increases Chrome, decreases in Internet Explorer and Firefox, and Safari usage generally stable.

Chrome usage among respondents nearly tripled in the last 22 months, making it the most popular browser. Firefox usage decreased sharply. Internet Explorer usage continued to decline, but it is still used by 14.5% of respondents, making it more commonly used than Safari (9.8%). Many respondents reported still using very old versions of Internet Explorer - there were more users of IE6, 7, or 8 than of Microsoft Edge.

Screen Reader / Browser Combinations

Most common screen reader and browser combinations
Screen Reader & Browser# of Respondents% of Respondents
JAWS with Chrome25921.4%
NVDA with Firefox23719.6%
NVDA with Chrome21818.0%
JAWS with Internet Explorer13911.5%
VoiceOver with Safari1109.1%
JAWS with Firefox715.9%
VoiceOver with Chrome363.0%
NVDA with Internet Explorer141.2%
Other combinations12610.4%

There are many combinations in use, with JAWS with Chrome the most common, followed closely by NVDA with Firefox and NVDA with Chrome.

Operating System

Operating System
Operating System# of Respondents% of Respondents
Windows88272.1%
iOS16513.5%
Apple1169.5%
Android473.8%
Linux131.1%
Other1.1%

Operating system data above was detected from the system used to complete the survey. Respondents without disabilities were almost 6 times more likely to use Apple than respondents with disabilities, whereas users with disabilities were more likely to respond using iOS devices.

JavaScript

JavaScript Enabled
Response% of Respondents
Yes99.3%
No.7%

JavaScript support was detected with the survey form submission. Nearly all respondents had JavaScript enabled.

How Obtained

How did you obtain your primary desktop/laptop screen reader?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
I downloaded it free of charge from the Internet44737.0%
I bought it myself27422.7%
It was provided to me by my employer15713.0%
It came with my computer or operating system14612.1%
It was received through a government program13411.1%
I'm using a pirated version of a commercial screen reader171.4%
It was provided to me by my school131.1%
I'm using a trial version of a commercial screen reader30.2%
Other181.5%

Reason for Use

What is the main reason for using your primary screen reader?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Existing Comfort/Expertise46638.9%
Features34028.4%
Availability17714.8%
Cost14512.1%
Support705.8%

The reasons cited have remained largely consistent since our 2012 survey.

Mobile Screen Readers

Mobile Platforms

Which of the following is your primary mobile/tablet platform?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch81169.0%
Android32327.5%
Other423.5%

Respondents with disabilities used iOS devices at a higher rate than those without disabilities. Usage of iOS devices was significantly higher in North America (78%) and Australia (79.4%) than in South America (30.6%), Asia (37.9%), and Europe/UK (62.1%).

Chart of mobile platform usage.

iOS devices continue to dominate the mobile screen reader market, though iOS usage dropped slightly for the first time in 9 years. Android usage increased slightly and at a faster pace than previous years. Usage of other platforms (Chrome OS, Windows Phone, Nokia, etc.) combined represent only 3.5% of usage.

iOS device usage was notably higher among respondents with disabilities than among respondents without disabilities and the overall population. Those with more advanced screen reader and internet proficiency were much more likely to use iOS over Android.

Mobile Screen Readers Used

Which of the following mobile screen readers do you commonly use? (Choose all that apply)
Mobile Screen Reader% of Respondents
VoiceOver71.2%
TalkBack for Android33.0%
Voice Assistant8.2%
VoiceView6.5%
Mobile Accessibility for Android3.8%
MobileSpeak1.6%
Nuance Talks1.1%
Other5.5%

Primary Mobile Browser

Which of the following is your primary mobile web browser?
Mobile Screen Reader# of Respondents% of Respondents
Safari72662.7%
Chrome29225.2%
Firefox625.4%
Android Browser201.7%
IE or Edge Mobile181.6%
Samsung Browser10.9%
Opera2.2%
Other272.3%

Safari on iOS is by far the most common mobile browser though usage of Chrome has notably increased.

Mobile vs. Desktop/Laptop Usage

Do you use a screen reader most often on a desktop/laptop computer or a mobile/tablet device?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Desktop/Laptop50041.3%
I use mobile/tablet and desktop/laptop screen readers about the same59649.2%
Mobile/Tablet device1159.5%

Users are more likely to predominantly use desktop/laptop screen readers than they are mobile/tablet screen readers. Desktop/laptop usage increased since the last survey. Respondents with disabilities are more likely to use a mobile screen reader than respondents without disabilities.

Mobile App vs Web Site Usage

When performing common online tasks such as banking or shopping are you most likely to use a mobile app or the web site?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Mobile App59750.8%
Web site57849.2%

Respondents indicated that they are slightly more likely to use a mobile app than a web site for common online tasks. The preference for mobile app usage increased to 50.8% in 2019, up from 46% in 2017.

Web Accessibility Progress

Which of the following best describes your feelings regarding the accessibility of web content over the previous year?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Web content has become more accessible48140.0%
Web content accessibility has not changed50041.6%
Web content has become less accessible22118.4%

Respondents have a slightly less positive perception of the state of web accessibility now than they did in 2017. Respondents without disabilities tend to be more positive about recent progress (47.2% thought it has become more accessible) than those with disabilities (39% thought it has become more accessible).

Reasons for Inaccessibility

Which of the following do you think is the primary reason that many developers do not create accessible web sites?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Lack of awareness of web accessibility46138.0%
Lack of web accessibility skills or knowledge41434.1%
Fear that accessibility will hinder the look, feel, or functionality22418.5%
Lack of budget or resources to make it accessible1159.5%

Respondents this year were more likely to indicate lack of web accessibility skills or knowledge (34.1% compared to 26.6% in 2015) as the primary reason for inaccessibility than on previous surveys.

Customization

How customized are your screen reader settings? (changed verbosity, installed scripts, etc.)
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Very customized34928.7%
Somewhat customized50341.3%
Slightly customized27122.3%
Not customized947.7%

The majority of respondents customize their screen reader settings. NVDA users customize more than JAWS users, who customize more than VoiceOver users.

Text-only or Screen Reader Versions

If a text-only or screen reader version of a web site is available, how often do you use it?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Whenever one is available26322.1%
Often16013.5%
Sometimes22619.0%
Seldom28423.9%
Never25521.5%

45.4% of respondents reported they seldom or never access text-only or screen reader versions, compared to 29.3% of respondents reporting this in 2014. The fact that so many users do not use such versions suggests that this approach to accessibility is not optimal.

Landmarks/Regions

How often do you navigate by landmarks/regions in your screen reader?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Whenever they're available15813.2%
Often16013.4%
Sometimes36730.7%
Seldom27623.1%
Never23319.5%

The frequent use of landmarks and regions has continually decreased from 43.8% in 2014, to 38.6% in 2015, to 30.5% in 2017, to 26.6% on this survey. It's difficult to know the reasons for this. It could be due to infrequent or improper usage of landmarks/regions in pages. Or perhaps because other mechanisms are continually better.

Finding Information

When trying to find information on a lengthy web page, which of the following are you most likely to do first?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Navigate through the headings on the page83068.8%
Use the "Find" feature18915.7%
Navigate through the links of the page685.6%
Navigate through the landmarks/regions of the page352.9%
Read through the page857.0%

Navigating headings remains the predominant method for finding page information. While 26.6% of respondents indicate that they always or often use landmarks when they are present, only 2.9% use this method for finding information on a lengthy web page. Those with advanced screen reader proficiency are much more likely to use headings (75%) than those with beginner proficiency (45%), who are more likely to read through the page or use the "Find" feature.

Heading Levels

When navigating a web page by headings, how useful are the heading levels (e.g., "Heading 1", "Heading 2", etc.) to you?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Very Useful62552.2%
Somewhat Useful40633.9%
Not Very Useful1048.7%
Not At All Useful282.3%
I Don't Know342.8%

The usefulness of proper heading structures is very high, with 86.1% of respondents finding heading levels very or somewhat useful.

WCAG Conformance

What percentage of web sites do you think meet international accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1 A/AA conformance)?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Less than 5%16613.9%
5% - 10%15212.7%
10% - 20%19816.5%
20% - 50%17214.4%
More than 50%897.4%
I Don't Know42035.1%

While 35.1% of respondents didn't know or offer an answer, those that did answer provided very mixed responses. Most believe the majority of pages do not meet WCAG guidelines. We know from the WebAIM Million analysis that the conformance rate for home pages is no higher than 2%.

Screen Reader Detection

How comfortable would you be with allowing web sites (and thus web site owners) to detect whether you are using a screen reader?

Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Very Comfortable47139.2%
Somewhat Comfortable28023.3%
Not Very Comfortable17214.3%
Not At All Comfortable21718.1%
I Don't Know615.1%

Respondents are predominantly comfortable with allowing screen reader detection by web sites. However, this favorability has decreased over time - 78.4% of respondents to this question in 2014 were very or somewhat comfortable with allowing screen reader detection, compared to 62.5% in 2019. Respondents with disabilities were significantly more likely to be favorable of detection than respondents without disabilities.

This relevant article may be of interest - Why Screen Reader Detection on the Web is a Bad Thing.

How comfortable would you be with allowing web sites (and thus web site owners) to detect whether you are using a screen reader if doing so resulted in a more accessible experience?

Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Very Comfortable63153.2%
Somewhat Comfortable23419.7%
Not Very Comfortable12910.9%
Not At All Comfortable14912.6%
I Don't Know423.5%

Comfort with screen reader detection increases notably when respondents believe this detection would improve their experience. Historically, there has generally been resistance to web technologies that would detect assistive technologies - primarily due to privacy concerns and fear of discrimination. These responses clearly indicate that the majority of users are comfortable with revealing their usage of assistive technologies, especially if it results in a more accessible experience.

Multiple Languages

Do you understand and have your screen reader set to read more than one language?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Yes49340.6%
No72159.4%

There were notable differences in language settings across geographical regions - 77.1% of respondents from Africa or the Middle East, 75% from Asia, 66.7% from South America, and 65.3% from Europe have their screen readers set to read more than one language, compared to 22.4% of respondents from North America.

PDF Issues

How likely is it that PDF documents will pose significant accessibility issues to you?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Very Likely44136.8%
Somewhat Likely45938.3%
Somewhat Unlikely14712.3%
Very Unlikely1129.4%
I Don't Know383.2%

The vast majority (75.1%) of respondents indicate that PDF document are very or somewhat likely to pose significant accessibility issues.

Word Issues

How likely is it that Microsoft Word documents will pose significant accessibility issues to you?
Response# of Respondents% of Respondents
Very Likely1139.5%
Somewhat Likely25421.4%
Somewhat Unlikely32227.2%
Very Unlikely44337.4%
I Don't Know544.6%

Respondents were much more favorable of Word documents than of PDF documents - 30.9% indicated that Word documents are very or somewhat likely to pose significant accessibility issues, compared to 75.1% for PDF documents.