Voicing barriers: accessibility for visually impaired voiceover users on audio chat platforms

Abstract

Social media is to a large extent focused on visual elements, negatively affecting accessibility for visually impaired users. Touchscreens, designed to be handled by visual keys, add complexity to the interaction. This study aims to investigate what influences the accessibility for visually impaired VoiceOver users to successfully partake on audio chat platforms and which guidelines could be devised to assist in designing such platforms. The study was conducted as a case study of the audio chat platform Clubhouse. The qualitative data collection methods included interviews with four experts and ten visually impaired users of the platform. The results of the study indicate that clear labelling, audio communication being at the core of the interaction, a limited focus on images and videos, as well as a limited scope of features enhance accessibility for visually impaired users. However, the results additionally showcase that too few features can lead to user-workaround behaviour negatively influencing accessibility. Audio chat platforms have the potential to be highly accessible and make visually impaired users feel independent and included. However, merely relying on labelling, the interface is to miss out on taking the next step in accessibility: implementing gestures as well as haptic and audio feedback. The study proposes that in addition to following principles like WCAG, accessibility can be enhanced by focusing on the user experience perspective. As a result of the study, design guidelines are proposed.