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Making Chromebooks accessible for people with disabilities

Chromebooks come with helpful accessibility features created using inclusive design principles and based on user feedback, to empower people with disabilities to learn, play and connect.

Display and visuals

Built to enhance visual clarity

People who are blind or with low vision can take full advantage of Chromebooks thanks to the following features.

A woman is sitting on a sofa stroking an off-duty guide dog

Browser zoom

Browser zoom allows visually impaired people to magnify just their browser window while everything else, like the tabs and icons, stays the same size.

Display size

People can choose to enlarge all on-screen text and visuals, and easily revert back if necessary.

Full-screen magnifier

Zoom in on Chromebook to get a closer look at text and images. Full-screen magnification on Chromebook makes on-screen content easier to see by making the screen up to 20 times the default size.

Docked magnifier

Some people may not want to alter their entire viewing experience. The docked magnifier allows people with visual impairments to magnify just the top third of their screen, while the rest of the screen is resized to fit in the bottom section.

Font size

Chromebook lets those who are visually impaired adjust font sizing to make reading easier while leaving other aspects of the display at their default size.

Large mouse cursor

A larger cursor can make a big difference. Chromebooks enable people to enlarge just the mouse cursor so that it’s easier to see.

Invert colours with a quick keyboard shortcut

High contrast mode inverts colours to make on-screen content easier to read for people with low vision or for those working in bright environments. It can also reduce the effects of screen glare to make working more comfortable in any environment. Try the shortcut: Ctrl + Search ( ) + H to activate it.

Toggling the high contrast displays the same Chromebook with inverted colours.

audio and captions

Building for users who are deaf or hard of hearing

Chromebooks include features that make technology more accessible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Two women have a conversation using sign language discussing a magazine article.

Customise caption styles

Easily adjust caption size, colour and typeface for a customised closed caption experience. Select 'Captions' in your Chromebook’s accessibility settings to update these features.

Mono audio

People who are hard of hearing can select mono audio to play the same sound through both speakers so that they don’t miss content in stereo sound. Select 'Mono audio' in your Chromebook’s accessibility settings to use this feature.

spoken feedback

Spoken feedback tools for people with low vision or dyslexia

Spoken feedback tools on Chromebook help people, especially those with low vision or dyslexia, get the most out of technology.

How to use Select to Speak on your Chromebook: Length of the video: 5 minutes 15 seconds

ChromeVox

ChromeVox, Chromebook’s built-in screen reader, helps people who are blind or with low vision by making the computer speak every time that they move their focus by using their mouse or keyboard. Chromebook can also be used with a refreshable braille display.

Select to Speak

With Select to Speak, choose specific lines or sections of the screen to be read aloud. While ChromeOS reads the selected words aloud, each word is highlighted visually, which can be especially useful for people with dyslexia, new language learners and more.

Text-to-speech settings

Text-to-speech settings allow people to customise voice, speech rate, pitch, volume and more for optimal accessibility.

motor

Providing more ways to enter information

People with motor disabilities and dexterity impairments can use Chromebooks thanks to features designed with this community in mind.

How to use speech to enter text on your Chromebook: Length of video: 5 minutes 57 seconds

On-screen keyboard

People can input information on a Chromebook in a variety of ways beyond a traditional keyboard: via an on-screen keyboard, using a mouse, connected joystick, touchscreen or even handwriting.

Touchpad settings

To make clicking more accessible, people with dexterity impairments can customise touchpad settings to enable automatic clicks, tap dragging or tap-to-click functionality.

Physical keyboard settings

Customise how Chromebook's physical keyboard responds to touch.

Sticky keys

Sticky keys can help people with dexterity impairments more easily use keyboard shortcuts. This feature makes it possible to press only one key at a time in sequence to activate a keyboard shortcut, instead of having to hold down multiple keys at once.

Type using your voice with Dictation

The dictation feature on Chromebook lets people enter text into any field using their voice. Dictation can be especially helpful for those with motor disabilities or dexterity impairments, or anyone who wants to take a break from typing. In your Chromebook’s accessibility settings under 'Keyboard and text input', select 'Enable dictation (speak to type)'.

A Chromebook is open, showing the functionality of the dictation feature.

How to turn on
Chromebook accessibility features

step 1

Visit your Settings

Step 2

Navigate to the bottom of the menu and select “Advanced”

Making the digital world more accessible

Student using a chromebook

Google for Education

Students in the same classroom learn in different ways. That’s why Google for Education products, including Chromebooks and Google Workspace for Education, are built with accessibility in mind, to help every student achieve their full potential.

Android logo

Android Accessibility

Learn about more accessibility tools on Android.

David Tseng, Technical Lead for ChromeOS accessibility services

Meet the team

David Tseng, Technical Lead for ChromeOS accessibility services, shares how he’s dedicated his career to using technology to break down barriers for people with disabilities.