Accessibility
Using CloudDrive2 with a screen reader
What the CloudDrive2 apps and web interface do for screen-reader users: subtitles read aloud while a video plays, PDFs and scans read aloud, gestures and keys for the player, and other improvements on each platform.
Our commitment
Improved from your feedback
Most of the changes on this page came from screen-reader users' emails and testing. If a control can't be read, reached or found, email us the device, the system version and the screen reader you use.
Visually impaired users can apply for a discounted lifetime Core plan; see the home page.
Subtitles
Subtitles read aloud during playback
While a screen reader is on, the player announces each new subtitle line, whether the controls are showing or hidden. There is no need for the screen reader's own screen recognition.
| Platform | Screen reader | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Android phones, tablets and TVs | TalkBack and other screen readers | Available |
| Windows | Narrator and other screen readers | Available |
| iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro | VoiceOver | Available |
- Text subtitles: SRT, ASS, text tracks inside the video and AI-translated subtitles are read from their text.
- Picture subtitles: Blu-ray PGS, DVD VobSub and DVB subtitles are pictures. They are recognised as text on the device, in the track's language, and then read.
- Only what is new: only a line that has just appeared is read. When one line stays and another joins it, the first is not read again.
- On Windows, hiding subtitles with V also stops them being read.
PDFs and books
PDFs, scans and comics read aloud
From app 1.1.2, screen readers can read the text on the pages of the PDF reader, without downloading the whole file first. Pages that are a single picture, such as scans and comics, are recognised on the device first, and the recognised text is read.
| Platform | Screen reader | How pages are read |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro | VoiceOver | Reads the pages shown line by line, turns the page during continuous reading, and turns pages with a three-finger swipe; a Mac reads by line and offers page actions; Apple TV reads the focused page |
| Android phones, tablets and TVs, Meta Quest | TalkBack | One item per paragraph, in reading order, with headings marked; swiping on past the last paragraph turns the page |
| Windows | Narrator, NVDA | Reads the paragraphs laid over the page |
- Page text: read in the order of the paragraphs on the page, with headings marked. PDFs in Chinese, Japanese and Korean work, and so do encrypted PDFs that open without a password.
- Scans and comics: the recognised text is put in reading order, by column and then by line. Apple devices use the system's Vision, Android and Meta Quest use the ML Kit model built into the app, and Windows uses the system's text recognition.
- E-books: books that reflow, such as EPUB, MOBI and AZW3, already give screen readers their text; pictures in a book are read by their alternative text.
- Page text is loaded only while a screen reader is on.
Player
Controlling the player
While a screen reader is on, the player controls don't hide by themselves after a while. You hide and show them yourself, so their names aren't read together with the subtitles.
iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro
- The video area is one VoiceOver element, "Video". A double tap hides or shows the controls and says which, and focus stays on the video.
- The Magic Tap (a two-finger double tap) plays or pauses anywhere in the player.
- The two-finger scrub closes the player; for audio, playback continues in the background. Panels and menus open in the player close first.
- The progress bar is adjustable: swipe up or down to go forward or back 10 seconds, and the position is read out.
- On Apple TV, hiding the controls with Back is announced.
Android and Meta Quest
- With TalkBack on, a double tap on the video area hides or shows the controls.
- While the controls are hidden, the video area is a "Show player controls" button.
- TalkBack's play/pause gesture and headset buttons control the player directly.
Windows
- H hides or shows the controls, and the screen reader says which.
- With the controls hidden, Tab brings them back and moves to the first control; Shift+Tab moves to the last.
- CloudDrive2 detects Narrator. While it runs, the controls don't hide in the middle of reading, and once hidden with H they stay hidden until H or a click.
More
Other improvements on each platform
- iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro: in file lists and grids, each file is one VoiceOver element that reads its name, folder or size, date, encryption and playback progress. Double tap opens it; Properties is in the actions rotor.
- Apple devices: buttons in the player, the file browser and the panels have screen-reader labels in Chinese and English.
- Apple TV: on tvOS 27, text in the app follows Settings › Accessibility › Display & Text Size › Text Size.
- Mac: the icon buttons on the image viewer's toolbar have screen-reader labels.
- iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro: while browsing files, VoiceOver's two-finger scrub goes back to the parent folder; in selection mode, the first scrub leaves selection mode. The toolbar's up button reads as "Parent Folder".
Web
The core service's web interface
From core 1.1.0:
- Items in the folder picker can be selected with the keyboard.
- In full-screen image or video view, moving to the controls with the keyboard or a screen reader shows the hidden control bar again.
- The buttons, tabs and menus on the Backups page are read out correctly by screen readers.
Tell us what still gets in the way
Please include the device, the system version and the screen reader you use. You can also file a GitHub issue or write in the Telegram group.