Screen readers are most commonly used by people with sight loss. They are also available in multiple languages. Most screen readers can be customiszd to meet the needs of the user, for example, by changing the speed of the screen reader’s speech or altering the level of punctuation that is spoken. People with vision loss might even use more than one screen reader, for example, if they use both Windows and Mac devices. Some come built-in to the user’s device, such as the software that runs on the Android or iOS platforms. As with most technologies, there are a number of competing brands and styles featuring different capabilities. The exact features available and the mechanics of how this process works depend on the specific screen reader being used – not all screen readers are the same. This enables them to use a computer to perform the same tasks as a sighted user. These capabilities are helpful for users who have limited vision or color blindness.Īs many users with sight loss cannot accurately navigate web content with a mouse, they will typically control their screen reader using keyboard commands or by making gestures on a trackpad or touchscreen.

Screen readers can be used to access web content at home, at work or in educational environments.Īs well as providing a speech output, some screen reader technologies allow the magnification of web content and altering the appearance of a web page, for example, by increasing the contrasts or inverting colors.

Some screen reader technologies also allow their users to access web content via a refreshable braille display, which is particularly useful for deaf-blind people. This is typically achieved by the screen reader ‘announcing’ the site’s content (headings, text, links, images and so on) in an artificial voice – also known as a speech synthesizer – via the user’s device’s sound card. The content they can decipher includes emails, web pages and other documents. They are designed to run on the most popular operating systems, like Windows, iOS and Android. Screen readers are a specialist text-to-speech software that can be used by people with little to no vision to access website content, generally on a computer or mobile device.

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