AccessiBe and data protection?
The case against accessibility overlays is well established, but AccessiBe's privacy practices deserve closer scrutiny—particularly how it tracks your browsing activity and personal data across websites.
JavaScript
Playing with the Accessibility Object Model (AOM)
The Accessibility Object Model (AOM) is an experimental JavaScript API that enables developers to modify the browser accessibility tree, with phase one support recently landing in Chrome Canary behind a flag.
Using the ARIA application role
The ARIA `application` role stops screen readers from intercepting keystrokes, which can be useful for JavaScript keyboard shortcuts, but it also disables all standard screen reader navigation—so it must be used carefully and only when necessary.
Using the Web Speech API to simulate CSS Speech support
The CSS Speech module is largely unsupported in browsers, but I've created a demo using the Web Speech API to show how CSS Speech properties might give content aural style, similar to how other CSS properties provide visual style.
Time to revisit accesskey?
Many websites provide keyboard shortcuts for common tasks, but the way they're delivered using JavaScript is problematic for Windows screen reader users because the screen reader intercepts the keys.
Accessible timeout notifications
I've written about making session timeout warnings accessible to all users, including those using assistive technologies like screen readers, by moving keyboard focus to the notification and using proper ARIA attributes.