• Success Criterion 1.4.13
  • Conformance level AA

Hover Content That Can’t Be Dismissed Without Moving the Mouse

1.4.13 — Content on Hover or Focus

Scenario

Setting

A bank's mobile money-transfer screen

What’s wrong

Documented but unnumbered by W3C: hover/focus content that cannot be dismissed (e.g., with Esc) without moving the pointer or focus, or that disappears on its own before the user dismisses it.

Example

During an audit of a bank's mobile money-transfer screen: documented but unnumbered by W3C: hover/focus content that cannot be dismissed (e.g., with Esc) without moving the pointer or focus, or that disappears on its own before the user dismisses it.

Why it matters

Screen-magnifier users, people with motor tremors, and keyboard-only users of tooltips/menus. The practical effect on a bank's mobile money-transfer screen: they can't perceive the control's boundary or state.

How to test

Trigger the hover/focus content and check: it must be dismissible without moving the pointer or focus (e.g., via Esc), and stay visible until dismissed or no longer valid — either missing condition fails.

How to fix

Hover/focus-triggered content must stay visible until dismissed, be dismissible with Esc without moving pointer/focus, and remain when the pointer moves onto it.

Outcome

That one change on a bank's mobile money-transfer screen means they read the text clearly against its background.

Who is affected

Screen-magnifier users, people with motor tremors, and keyboard-only users of tooltips/menus.

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