• Success Criterion 3.3.8
  • Conformance level AA

Login PIN Entered Only via a Randomized On-Screen Keypad

3.3.8 — Accessible Authentication (Minimum)

Scenario

Setting

A streaming music app's search results

What’s wrong

Log-in flows requiring memorized PIN entry on a randomized on-screen keypad (blocks assistive entry) with no alternative method.

Example 

<div class="keypad">
  <!-- button positions for 0-9 are shuffled on every login attempt -->
  <button style="left: 82px;">4</button>
  <button style="left: 15px;">7</button>
</div>
<!-- designed to defeat screen recording, but also defeats screen readers and switch scanning -->

Why it matters

A screen reader user memorizes their PIN but can't find the shuffled digit positions without sight, so they can never actually enter it.

How to test

Try to complete a login requiring a memorized PIN entered via a randomized on-screen keypad: if this blocks assistive input methods with no alternative, it fails.

How to fix

Use a standard, stable input that supports paste and password managers instead of a shuffled visual keypad.

<label for="pin">Enter your PIN</label>
<input id="pin" type="password" inputmode="numeric" autocomplete="current-password">

Outcome

The listener enters their PIN through a standard field and reaches their saved playlists without sighted assistance.

Who is affected

Blind and low-vision users, and switch-access users, for whom a randomized spatial layout makes memorized-digit entry impossible.

Learn more

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