The following list of talkback gestures help anyone working in the area of digital accessibility as a treference document. This document also helps developers to check for screen reader conflicts while implementing custom gestures. These talkback gestures should work on all Android based browsers. See the Maxability recommended screen reader Vs browser combination for accessibility.
Talkback is the built-in screen reader available in Android devices. It should be available in
Apps > Settings > Accessibility > Talkback
If it is not found in for a particular device, it can still be downloaded from the play store. In some devices such as Samsung, you may find Voice Assist. Voice Assist is a Samsung based screen reader. You can still download Talkback and switch between Voice Assist and Talkback.
Basic Talkback Gestures
Note: Talkback gestures are all single finger gestures. IF you use two finger gestures, they directly interact with the app.
| Gesture | Action |
|---|---|
| Single tap | Selects or reads the item in focus |
| Double tap | Opens or selects the focused item |
| single tap | Pause talkback from reading |
| Flick right | Move to next item |
| Flik left | Move to previous item |
| Swipe down then left | Go back |
| Swipe up then down | Go to first item on the screen |
| Swipe down then up | Go to last item on the screen |
| Swipe right then left | Go to next screen (scrolling in long pages) |
| Swipe left then right | Go to previous screen (scrolling in long pages) |
Few more Talkback gestures
| Gesture | Action |
|---|---|
| Swipe up then right | Local Context Menu (LCM) |
| Swipe down then right | Global Context Menu (GCM) |
| Activate LCM – Swipe up then right, Select item (heading) – swipe right, Move to next items (headings) ; swipe down. |
Quickly move to next items such as headings |
| Activate LCM – Swipe up then right, Select item (heading) – swipe right, Move to previous items (headings) ; swipe Up. |
Quickly move to previous item such as a heading |