Screen Reader User Survey #7 Results

Introduction In October 2017, WebAIM surveyed preferences of screen reader users. We received 1792 valid responses. This was a follow-up to 6 previous surveys that were conducted between January 2009 and July 2015 (see Related Resources). A few disclaimers and notices: Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding.

Total responses (n) for each question may not equal 1792 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 America 991 60.0% Europe/UK 380 23.0% Asia 141 8.5% Australia and Oceania 61 3.7% Africa/Middle East 39 2.4% South America 35 2.1% Central America and Caribbean 5 0.3% This survey had more respondents outside North America than previous surveys, thus providing better representation of the global screen reader user audience. Disability Reported Do you use a screen reader due to a disability? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Yes 1,585 89.2% No 192 10.9% In general, we've found survey responses to be 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 Blindness 1,358 75.8% Low Vision/Visually-Impaired 366 20.4% Cognitive 39 2.2% Deafness/Hard-of-Hearing 90 5.0% Motor 33 1.8% Other 41 2.3% 239 respondents (13.3%) reported multiple disabilities. 70 respondents (3.9%) reported being both deaf and blind. The number of respondents with low vision was notably lower than in 2015. This corresponds with decreased usage of ZoomText among respondents. Screen Reader Proficiency Please rate your screen reader proficiency Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Advanced 1,039 59.5% Intermediate 604 34.6% Beginner 104 6.0% Those who use screen readers due to a disability report themselves as more proficient with screen readers—64.2% of those with disabilities considered their proficiency to be "Advanced" compared to only 19.8% of those without disabilities. Internet Proficiency Please rate your proficiency using the Internet Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Advanced 1,278 72.9% Intermediate 444 25.3% Beginner 30 1.7% Reported proficiency on this survey was notably 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 audio 1,311 75.6% I primarily rely on screen reader audio, but also use visual content 193 11.1% I primarily rely on visual content, but also use screen reader audio 145 8.4% I exclusively rely on visual content 85 4.9% Nearly 25% of respondents rely at least partially on the visual components when using a screen reader. 83.4% of those with disabilities rely exclusively on audio, compared to only 5.3% 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 1.3% of those with disabilities rely exclusively on the visual output—many of these reported having cognitive or learning disabilities. Users of ZoomText, Narrator, and ChromeVox were much more likely to use the visual output than users of other screen readers.

Primary Screen Reader Which of the following is your primary desktop/laptop screen reader? Screen Reader # of Respondents % of Respondents JAWS 811 46.6% NVDA 555 31.9% VoiceOver 204 11.7% ZoomText 42 2.4% System Access or SA To Go 30 1.7% Window-Eyes 27 1.5% ChromeVox 7 0.4% Narrator 6 0.3% Other 60 3.4% The following chart shows historical trends for primary screen reader usage. What happened in 2015? Essentially, the survey was distributed to a much broader audience, with many ZoomText and Window-Eyes users recruited to respond. Window-Eyes was also offered freely with Microsoft Office before the 2015 survey, but has since been discontinued. A much broader analysis from 2015 is available on the WebAIM blog. This doesn't necessarily mean that the 2015 numbers were inaccurate. They certainly are accurate of respondents for that survey, which included more low-vision users than any other survey. 39% of respondents in July 2015 reported low vision, compared to only 20.4% on this survey. This difference in respondent demographics accounts for much or most of the decrease of respondents using ZoomText in 2017. In short, there are three primary players—JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver. But we should not discount the continued impact of other screen readers, primarily ZoomText among the broader low vision community. For survey simplicity, other specific screen readers were not offered as response options. The survey comments indicate that SuperNova was very common among "Other" screen readers. Respondents with disabilities are more likely to use JAWS and less likely to use VoiceOver as their primary screen reader than respondents without disabilities. 10.4% of respondents with disabilities use VoiceOver compared to 22.6% of respondents without disabilities. 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 JAWS 66.0% NVDA 64.9% VoiceOver 39.6% ZoomText 6.0% SA or SA To Go 4.0% Window-Eyes 4.7% Narrator 21.4% ChromeVox 5.1% Other 6.4% See the commentary above regarding the July 2015 values. Usage of JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver are all up since 2015, with Window-Eyes and ZoomText significantly lower. Of note is that Narrator, which has been significantly improved in Windows 10, was used as a primary screen reader by only 0.3% of respondents, but was commonly used by 21.4% of respondents. 68% of respondents use more than one desktop/laptop screen reader. This was up from 53% in July 2015. 36% use three or more, and 12% 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.

Free/Low-cost Screen Readers Do you see free or low-cost screen readers (such as NVDA or VoiceOver) as currently being viable alternatives to commercial screen readers? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Yes 1,367 77.8% No 184 10.5% I Don't Know 206 11.7% The positive perception of free or low-cost screen readers continues to increase. Positive responses to this question were 48% in October 2009, 60% in December 2010, 67% in May 2012, 74% in January 2014, and 78% now. Only 66% of JAWS users answered "Yes" compared to an overwhelming 92% of VoiceOver users and 94% of NVDA users. Those that actually use free or low-cost screen readers have a much better perception of them than those who do not use them. Respondents with "Advanced" screen reader proficiency were also more favorable of free/low-cost screen readers.

Browsers When using your primary screen reader, which browser do you use most often? Browser # of Respondents % of Respondents Firefox 719 41.0% Internet Explorer 11 408 23.3% Chrome 271 15.5% Safari 184 10.5% Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8 71 4.1% Internet Explorer 9 or 10 70 4.0% Microsoft Edge 8 0.5% Other 22 1.3% For the first time, IE is no longer the most common browser among respondents. Internet Explorer (all versions) usage decreased to 31.4% from 53.5% in July 2015, 58.7% in January 2014, and 67.5% in May 2012. Firefox was used by 41% (up from 24.2% in 2014) of respondents. 31.4% represents a significantly higher IE usage than among the overall population (most statistics place it well below 10%). Usage of IE 6 through 10 was almost non-existent (1.6%) among those without disabilities, but remains at 8.8% among those with disabilities. Usage of Internet Explorer was much higher in North America than elsewhere in the world. 35% of respondents from North America reported using IE as their primary browser, compared to only 23.4% in Asia and 24% in Europe. Usage of Chrome more than doubled since July 2015, but was still well below usage by the overall population. Microsoft Edge usage was very low at .5%—notably below the overall population.

Screen Reader / Browser Combinations Most common screen reader and browser combinations Screen Reader & Browser # of Respondents % of Respondents JAWS with Internet Explorer 424 24.7% NVDA with Firefox 405 23.6% JAWS with Firefox 260 15.1% VoiceOver with Safari 172 10.0% JAWS with Chrome 112 6.5% NVDA with Chrome 102 5.9% NVDA with IE 40 2.3% VoiceOver with Chrome 24 1.4% Other combinations 180 10.5% There are many combinations in use, with JAWS with IE the most common, followed closely by NVDA with Firefox.

Operating System Operating System Operating System # of Respondents % of Respondents Windows 1,304 72.8% iOS 254 14.2% Apple 141 7.9% Android 55 3.1% Linux 25 1.4% Other 13 .7% Operating system data above was detected from the system used to complete the survey. Respondents using iOS and Android nearly tripled since 2015. Respondents without disabilities were almost 4 times more likely to use Apple than respondents with disabilities, whereas users with disabilities were more likely to respond using iOS devices.

Braille Output Do you use braille output with your screen reader? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Yes 516 33.3% No 1,034 66.7% Because it would not generally be expected that users without disabilities would use Braille, they have been omitted from these data. Braille usage at 33.3% was up slightly from 27.7% in May 2012. 48.7% of VoiceOver users used Braille compared to a much lower 35.1% of JAWS users and 29.9% of NVDA users.

Mobile Screen Readers Mobile Screen Reader Usage Do you use a screen reader on a mobile phone, mobile handheld device, or tablet? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Yes 1,557 88.0% No 213 12.0% The percentage of respondents using a mobile screen reader was notably up from 69.2% in July 2015, when the survey had broader distribution to a more diverse and less technically proficient user base. 90.9% of respondents with disabilities indicate using a mobile screen reader, compared to only 65.3% of respondents without disabilities. 94.3% of users with advanced screen reader proficiency indicate using a mobile screen reader compared to just 50.5% of those with beginner proficiency. Mobile Platforms Which of the following is your primary mobile/tablet platform? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch 1,146 75.6% Android 334 22.0% Other 35 2.3% iOS devices continue to dominate the mobile screen reader market. Android usage increased slightly, though at a slower pace than previous years. Usage of other platforms (Windows Phone, Chrome OS, Nokia, etc.) combined represent only 2.3% of usage. Usage of iOS devices was significantly higher in North America (85.7%) and Australia (81.4%) than in South America (37.5%), Asia (38.5%), Africa/Middle East (62.5%), and Europe/UK (66.9%). iOS device usage among screen reader users was notably higher than for the standard population, whereas Android usage was much, much lower. 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 VoiceOver 69.0% TalkBack for Android 29.5% Voice Assistant 5.2% Mobile Accessibility for Android 1.9% Nuance Talks 1.8% MobileSpeak 1.5% Other 3.2% Since July 2015, VoiceOver usage increased to 69% from 56.7%. TalkBack increased to 29.5% from 17.8% over the same 2.5 year period. All other mobile screen readers saw decreased usage over that period. 20.9% of respondents commonly use multiple mobile screen readers. 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/Laptop 528 34.6% I use mobile/tablet and desktop/laptop screen readers about the same 825 54.0% Mobile/Tablet device 174 11.4% 54% of respondents use both devices about the same amount. Users are more likely to predominantly use desktop/laptop screen readers than they are mobile/tablet screen readers. 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 App 779 46% Web site 916 54% Respondents with disabilities are more likely to use the mobile app than respondents that do not have disabilities. Those with advanced screen reader proficiency were much more likely to use the mobile app than those with beginner proficiency. Mobile Keyboard Usage When using a mobile screen reader how often do you use an external keyboard? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Always 39 2.6% Often 181 12.0% Sometimes 394 26.2% Seldom 320 21.2% Never 577 38.2% Mobile devices are often considered to be touch-only interfaces, yet many screen reader users use a keyboard when using their mobile devices.

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 accessible 711 40.8% Web content accessibility has not changed 703 40.4% Web content has become less accessible 327 18.8% Respondents have a slightly more positive perception of the state of web accessibility now than they did in 2015. Respondents without disabilities tend to be more positive about recent progress (51.7% thought it has become more accessible) than those with disabilities (39.6% thought it has become more accessible).

Impacts on Accessibility Which of the following do you think would have a bigger impact on improvements to web accessibility? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Better (more accessible) web sites 1490 85.3% Better assistive technology 257 14.7% Over time, more respondents have answered "better web sites" to this question—68.6% of respondents in October 2009, 75.8% in December 2010, 81.3% in January 2014, and now 85.3% on this survey. This change perhaps reflects improvements to assistive technology. It certainly indicates that users expect site authors to address accessibility issues.

Social Media Accessibility In general, how accessible are social media web sites to you? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Very Accessible 253 14.9% Somewhat Accessible 921 54.3% Somewhat Inaccessible 246 14.5% Very Inaccessible 83 4.9% I Don't Know 192 11.3% Compared to responses from previous surveys, respondents are increasingly positive about the accessibility of social media sites - 69.2% find them very or somewhat accessible compared to 55.2% in 2012 and 60.3% in 2015. 73.1% of respondents with advanced screen reader proficiency rate social media sites as very or somewhat accessible, compared to only 62.8% of respondents with beginner proficiency.

Landmarks/Regions How often do you navigate by landmarks/regions in your screen reader? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Whenever they're available 307 18.0% Often 213 12.5% Sometimes 491 28.8% Seldom 364 21.3% Never 332 19.4% The frequent use of landmarks and regions has continually decreased from 43.8% in January 2014, to 38.6% in July 2015, to 30.5% 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. 45.4% of JAWS users reported always or often using landmarks in July 2015 compared to only 28.5% now just 2.5 years later.

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 page 1180 67.5% Use the "Find" feature 252 14.4% Navigate through the links of the page 118 6.8% Navigate through the landmarks/regions of the page 69 3.9% Read through the page 128 7.3% While reliance on headings as the predominant mechanism for finding page information had notably increased between 2008 and 2014, responses to this question are largely unchanged since 2014. While 30.5% of respondents indicate that they always or often use landmarks when they are present, only 3.9% use this method for finding information on a lengthy web page. Those with advanced screen reader proficiency are much more likely to use headings (73% use headings) than those with beginner proficiency (42% use headings) who are more likely to read through the page.

Heading Structures Which of the following page heading structures is easiest for you? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents One first level heading that contains the site name 95 6.6% One first level heading that contains the document title 858 60.0% Two first level headings, one for the site name and one for the document title 476 33.3% Preference for a single <h1> that presents the document title has significantly increased from 37.1% in 2010 to 60% in 2017. A single <h1> for the site name was by far the least desired.

"Skip" Links When a "skip to main content" or "skip navigation" link is available on a page, how often do you use it? Response # of Respondents % of Respondents Whenever they're available 273 15.8% Often 283 16.4% Sometimes 480 27.8% Seldom 374 21.6% Never 319 18.4% When compared to July 2015, the frequent usage of "skip" links has decreased from 37.8% to 30.2%. 54.9% of respondents without disabilities always or often use "skip" links compared to only 29.6% of respondents with disabilities. This represents a very significant disparity in usage. It is important to note that while usage has decreased among screen reader users, "skip" links still provide notable benefit for other keyboard users.