Success Criterion 1.2.5
Conformance level AA

Audio Description That Skips Essential On-Screen Actions

1.2.5 — Audio Description (Prerecorded)

Scenario

Setting

A music streaming app's playlist screen

What’s wrong

audio description track exists but omits essential visuals (text on screen, who entered the scene, actions that change meaning).

Example

Here's a real case from a music streaming app's playlist screen: audio description track exists but omits essential visuals (text on screen, who entered the scene, actions that change meaning).

Why it matters

Blind and low-vision viewers who need spoken descriptions of important visuals. Here, on a music streaming app's playlist screen, the result is they are left guessing what the media actually shows.

How to test

Play the AD track and compare to the video: if it omits on-screen text, who enters/exits a scene, or other essential visual actions, it fails.

How to fix

An audio description track must describe all important visual-only content, using available pauses in dialogue.

Outcome

After the fix, the same visitor to a music streaming app's playlist screen can now get the same information as everyone else.

Who is affected

Blind and low-vision viewers who need spoken descriptions of important visuals.

Learn more

Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)