Accessibility Statement
Our commitment
Wouch is built to be usable by as many people as possible, including people with disabilities. We aim for our app and website to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at the AA level. Where we do not yet meet that bar, we say so on this page; the remediation plan is published below.
This is not a niche concern for us. People who arrive at Wouch carry, on average, more complex life circumstances than the consumer-app baseline. Some of those circumstances include disabilities. Inaccessibility would not be a minor inconvenience for these users; it would be an exclusion from a service that was designed in part for them.
What we have done
Visual. Plus Jakarta Sans typeface at sizes meeting WCAG contrast and size guidance. Colour contrast at AAA on body text, AA on interactive elements. Headings use semantic HTML; the visual hierarchy is also a structural hierarchy that screen readers follow correctly. Focus states are visible and non-decorative. Animation respects prefers-reduced-motion.
Auditory. No audio plays automatically. Where audio or video content is added (research interviews, founder talks), captions are provided.
Motor. Touch targets meet the 44×44 px minimum. Keyboard navigation is fully supported on the web; common screen-reader gestures are supported in the apps. No critical action requires complex gestures.
Cognitive. The platform is paced. Sessions can be paused without penalty. Long text is segmented. We use plain language by design (this is also a trauma-informed commitment, not only an accessibility one). Numbers and quantitative pressure are deliberately absent.
Assistive technology. Tested with VoiceOver (iOS, macOS), TalkBack (Android), NVDA (Windows), and Dragon (voice). The Trust & Safety team reviews accessibility-impacting changes before deployment.
What we have not yet fully addressed
We say this honestly because the alternative is dishonest.
- The voice-input path for the appeal narrative (per Settings → Help → Request review) is currently text-only. Voice input is on the Phase 2 roadmap.
- Some module videos do not yet have full captioning in all eight assessment languages. English and Hindi captioning is complete; German, French, Spanish, Mandarin, and Arabic are in progress.
- The keyboard navigation order on the matching surface has a known issue with the "Pass" and "Message" buttons being inconsistent across browsers in some edge cases. A fix is scheduled for the next platform release.
- Screen-reader support in the photo-reveal flow is functional but could be more graceful.
How we test
Internal accessibility review is part of every ship-review process. External audit annually by an accessibility specialist firm. User testing with users who use assistive technology, conducted with care for the time and energy this asks of participants (paid, scheduled, asynchronous-friendly).
How to tell us about an accessibility problem
accessibility@wouch.app. Tell us:
- What you were trying to do.
- What happened, or what didn't.
- What assistive technology you were using, if any.
- What device and operating system, if you know.
We will respond within 5 business days, with what we have learned and what we will do. Critical accessibility issues are prioritised at P1 in our internal incident system.
Legal references
For users in the EU: this statement is provided in accordance with the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) and its national implementations, where applicable to Wouch's service category.
For users in the US: Wouch operates with reference to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA accessibility framework, recognising that the legal scope of ADA web/app accessibility continues to be litigated.
For users in the UK: this statement is provided in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 framework, applied here as best practice rather than legal compulsion.
For other jurisdictions: WCAG 2.2 AA is the operational target regardless of local legal status.