Device Accessibility Info #

A Flutter plugin that provides information about device accessibility features, particularly screen reader status detection and real-time change notifications.

Created by Yasin Arik 👨‍💻

Features #

• ✅ Screen Reader Detection: Check if VoiceOver (iOS) or TalkBack (Android) is currently enabled
• ✅ Real-time Notifications: Listen for screen reader status changes as they happen
• ✅ Cross-platform: Works on both iOS and Android
• ✅ Easy Integration: Simple API with Future-based and Stream-based methods
• ✅ Well Tested: Comprehensive unit tests included

Platform Support #

Installation #

Add this to your package's pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  device_accessibility_info: ^1.0.0

Then run:

flutter pub get

Usage #

Import the package #

import 'package:device_accessibility_info/device_accessibility_info.dart';

Check current screen reader status #

final plugin = DeviceAccessibilityInfo();

// Check if screen reader is currently enabled
bool isEnabled = await plugin.isScreenReaderEnabled();
print('Screen reader is ${isEnabled ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'}');

Listen for screen reader status changes #

final plugin = DeviceAccessibilityInfo();

// Listen for real-time changes
StreamSubscription<bool> subscription = plugin.screenReaderStatusChanged.listen(
  (bool isEnabled) {
    print('Screen reader status changed: ${isEnabled ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'}');
    // Update your UI accordingly
  },
);

// Don't forget to cancel the subscription
subscription.cancel();

Complete example #

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:device_accessibility_info/device_accessibility_info.dart';
import 'dart:async';

class AccessibilityScreen extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _AccessibilityScreenState createState() => _AccessibilityScreenState();
}

class _AccessibilityScreenState extends State<AccessibilityScreen> {
  final _plugin = DeviceAccessibilityInfo();
  bool _isScreenReaderEnabled = false;
  StreamSubscription<bool>? _subscription;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _checkInitialStatus();
    _listenForChanges();
  }

  @override
  void dispose() {
    _subscription?.cancel();
    super.dispose();
  }

  Future<void> _checkInitialStatus() async {
    try {
      bool isEnabled = await _plugin.isScreenReaderEnabled();
      setState(() {
        _isScreenReaderEnabled = isEnabled;
      });
    } catch (e) {
      print('Error checking screen reader status: $e');
    }
  }

  void _listenForChanges() {
    _subscription = _plugin.screenReaderStatusChanged.listen(
      (bool isEnabled) {
        setState(() {
          _isScreenReaderEnabled = isEnabled;
        });
      },
      onError: (error) {
        print('Error listening to screen reader changes: $error');
      },
    );
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(
        title: Text('Accessibility Info'),
      ),
      body: Center(
        child: Column(
          mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
          children: [
            Icon(
              _isScreenReaderEnabled 
                ? Icons.accessibility 
                : Icons.accessibility_outlined,
              size: 64,
              color: _isScreenReaderEnabled ? Colors.green : Colors.grey,
            ),
            SizedBox(height: 16),
            Text(
              'Screen reader is ${_isScreenReaderEnabled ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'}',
              style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.headlineSmall,
            ),
            SizedBox(height: 8),
            Text(
              'Status updates automatically when changed in device settings',
              style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.bodyMedium,
              textAlign: TextAlign.center,
            ),
          ],
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

API Reference #

Methods #

isScreenReaderEnabled()

Returns whether the screen reader is currently enabled.

Returns: Future<bool>

• true if screen reader is enabled
• false if screen reader is disabled

Platform behavior:

• iOS: Checks if VoiceOver is running
• Android: Checks if TalkBack or other spoken feedback services are enabled

getPlatformVersion()

Returns the platform version string.

Returns: Future<String?>

Streams #

screenReaderStatusChanged

A stream that emits screen reader status changes in real-time.

Returns: Stream<bool>

• Emits true when screen reader is enabled
• Emits false when screen reader is disabled

Platform behavior:

• iOS: Listens to UIAccessibility.voiceOverStatusDidChangeNotification
• Android: Monitors accessibility settings changes via AccessibilityStateChangeListener and ContentObserver

Platform-Specific Information #

iOS #

• Uses UIAccessibility.isVoiceOverRunning to check VoiceOver status
• Listens to UIAccessibility.voiceOverStatusDidChangeNotification for changes
• No additional permissions required
• Works on iOS 9.0+

Testing on iOS Simulator:

1. Open Settings app
2. Go to Accessibility > VoiceOver
3. Toggle VoiceOver on/off
4. The plugin will detect changes in real-time

Android #

• Uses AccessibilityManager to check TalkBack status
• Monitors multiple accessibility settings for comprehensive detection
• Listens to system broadcasts and content changes
• No additional permissions required
• Works on Android API 16+

Testing on Android:

1. Open Settings app
2. Go to Accessibility > TalkBack (or Accessibility > Screen Reader > TalkBack on some devices)
3. Toggle TalkBack on/off
4. The plugin will detect changes in real-time

Example App #

The plugin includes a comprehensive example app that demonstrates:

• Real-time screen reader status detection
• UI updates based on accessibility changes
• Best practices for handling accessibility in Flutter
• Platform-specific instructions for testing

To run the example:

cd example
flutter run

Testing #

Run the unit tests:

flutter test

Run integration tests:

cd example
flutter test integration_test/

Contributing #

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Development Setup #

1. Clone the repository
2. Run flutter pub get in the root directory
3. Run flutter pub get in the example directory
4. Make your changes
5. Run tests: flutter test
6. Test on both platforms
7. Submit a pull request

Author #

Yasin Arik
🔗 LinkedIn
📧 yasin.ariky@gmail.com
🐙 GitHub

License #

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support #

If you have any questions or issues, please open an issue on GitHub.

Changelog #

See CHANGELOG.md for a list of changes in each version.