Avira Windows App - Not Screen Reader Friendly
Hello. I am a blind screen reader user and I have been struggling to find an antivirus software whose UI is accessible via keyboard and screen reader. I could at least install Avira, which I can't say for some competitors, and I was able to run a basic smart scan. However, the application is still not very accessible, and until it is, I'm not willing to upgrade beyond the free plan as I otherwise would.
These are the 2 biggest hindrances to doing more than a basic scan and clicking the "Fix Problems" button with everything selected:
1. Interactive elements like checkboxes and several of the buttons (not all, but most) are missing associated text labels / text alternatives. I can use the tab key to reach these elements, but the audible readout is simply "checkbox not selected" or "button", which is not useful for determining what the button does or what I'm selecting.
2. There is no way to navigate to non-interactive elements, i.e. any text on the screen not inside a button. Normally, I would expect to be able to use arrow keys to read all the text on the screen, or at least to be able to tab between "paragraphs" or items of a list, but this isn't possible in the Avira interface. This text is often associated with checkboxes or other interactive elements, but because of issue #1, I can't access it that way either.
I'm well aware that I represent a small share of the market and rarely ever receive any acknowledgement of my usability struggles, much less ever see any improvement related to my feedback, but I will again attempt to inform and hope these UI issues can be given some level of priority in the near future.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
0 comments