Access Information News, the world’s #1, free online resource for news and trends in access information for people who are blind, low vision, deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, neurodivergent and/or disabled, now has its own app for iPhone, iPad and Android.
It opens the newest issue the moment you open it and keeps recent issues, and every older issue you open, on your device so you can read with no connection. The apps for iPhone, iPad and Android were all built from the ground up for VoiceOver, TalkBack, braille and low-vision readers.
Compatibility
It runs on any iPhone or iPad with iOS 17 or later. Translate and the Control Center button need iOS 18 or later.
On Android, it runs on any phone or tablet with Android 8.0 or later.
Get the App
The app is free from the App Store and from Google Play:
Installation
To install it on your iPhone or iPad:
- Open the App Store.
- Tap Get.
- Confirm with Face ID or Touch ID, or double-press the side button.
- When it finishes, tap Open, or open Access Information News from the Home Screen, the iPhone’s main screen with all of your app icons (from inside any app, swipe up from the very bottom edge of the screen).
To install it on your Android phone or tablet:
- Open Google Play.
- Tap Install.
- When it finishes, tap Open, or open Access Information News from your Home screen or your list of apps.
On Android
The Android app does what this page describes, on Android phones and tablets, with these differences:
- TalkBack in place of VoiceOver: set the reading controls to Headings (swipe up or down with one finger until you hear Headings), then swipe down to go heading by heading: each section is a level 2 heading and each article a level 3 heading. Google’s Accessibility Test Framework checks every main screen.
- With a braille display connected through TalkBack, the issue reads like a web page: move by headings to go article by article, and by links to reach each story.
- Text Size, in Settings, is on top of the font size you choose on your phone or tablet in Settings, Accessibility, Display size and text, so the issue still grows when you make your device’s text larger.
- Listen uses the voice and speed in your device’s Settings, Accessibility, Text-to-speech output, unless you choose others in the app. While Listen reads, its notification, and your headphones’ buttons, pause, resume and skip. The new-issue notification has a Listen button too: expand the notification to see it.
- Translate shows the issue in another language with Google’s translation, on your phone or tablet, with no connection once a language is downloaded.
- Your saved articles, notes, places and settings are kept in your Android backup, so a new phone or tablet signed in to the same Google account brings them back. They do not follow you between devices as you read, the way iCloud does on Apple devices.
- In place of Siri and the Control Center button: on the Home screen, touch and hold the Access Information News icon, then choose Listen to the Newest Issue, Search or Saved. Or add the Quick Settings tile: swipe down from the top of the screen twice to open Quick Settings, tap the pencil button to edit it, then drag Listen to the Newest Issue into your tiles. One tap opens the newest issue and starts Listen.
- Home screen widget: on the Home screen, touch and hold an empty spot, tap Widgets, search for Access Information News, then touch and hold the widget and drag it to a place on the screen. Android has no Lock Screen widget.
- With notifications on, a dot on the app’s icon means a new issue is out that you have not opened yet (if your Home screen shows notification dots).
- Links open inside the app, with Close to come back, or in your browser app; change Open Links In, in Settings. Stories open as the full web page: Reader View is on Apple devices only, and so is the iPhone’s own search.
- To send Access Information News a story you find anywhere: in your browser or another app, tap Share, then tap Access Information News in the list of apps.
- On a tablet, or an unfolded phone, Sections sit beside the issue. Saved, at the top of that list, shows your Saved articles there instead.
- Keyboard commands use Ctrl in place of Command: Ctrl J opens Sections, Ctrl F searches, Ctrl L starts Listen, and so on. To see all of the app’s commands, press the Search or Meta key and the slash key together.
Made for VoiceOver, Braille and Low-Vision Readers
- Every screen and button has a spoken name, and every name you see is the name Voice Control answers to.
- Each issue is built for heading navigation: every section is a level 2 heading and every article a level 3 heading, so the VoiceOver rotor set to Headings moves you article by article.
- With a braille display connected to VoiceOver, the issue reads like a web page: move by headings to go article by article, and by links to reach each story.
- Read Emoji in Headings, in Settings, is off by default, so headings are spoken and brailled without their emoji. The emoji still show on screen.
- The issue follows your iPhone’s text size up to the largest accessibility sizes, with nothing cut off, and Text Size in Settings makes it smaller or larger still.
- Light Mode and Dark Mode are in Settings, under Light Mode / Dark Mode; high-contrast colors (Yellow on Black, White on Black, Black on White), the Atkinson Hyperlegible font and wider line spacing are under Reading Preferences. Bold Text, in your iPhone’s own settings, makes the issue bold too.
- Listen reads the issue aloud in your own Spoken Content voice and speed, or in ones you choose in the app, and keeps reading when the screen locks.
- Every main screen of every version, and the note editor, the Settings lists, Using the App and the notification offer, is checked with Apple’s own accessibility audit, in light and dark, at the standard and the largest text sizes, on iPhone and iPad, on the smallest iPhone, and with Bold Text, Increase Contrast and Reduce Motion turned on.
- Keyboard commands work with any keyboard connected to your iPhone or iPad.
Reading an Issue
The Newest Issue
What it does: the app opens the newest issue the moment you open it. Each issue opens with the Access Information News header graphic, described in full for VoiceOver and braille.
How to get there: open the app. Reading an older issue, tap Back to the Newest Issue.
Sections
What it does: lists every section of the issue and jumps straight to the one you pick. Each section says how many articles in it you have not reached yet.
How to get there: tap Sections, the list button at the top right of the issue.
With VoiceOver: after a jump, VoiceOver starts on the section’s heading.
Top, Back to the Section Jumper
What it does: takes you back to the issue’s own Section Jumper at the top, from anywhere in the issue.
How to get there: tap Top, at the right end of the bar at the bottom of the screen.
Reopen Where You Left Off
What it does: each issue reopens at the place you stopped reading, on this iPhone or iPad and on your other Apple devices signed in to the same iCloud account.
How to get there: nothing to do; just open the issue again.
Past Issues
What it does: lists this year’s issues, newest first, each marked New until you open it, then, under Earlier Years, every earlier year back to 2022; tap a year to see its issues. Each issue is listed by its date and volume, an issue you have opened says Opened, and the issue on screen says Open now.
How to get there: tap Past Issues, the clock button at the top left of the issue.
Every Issue Since 2022
What it does: every issue from November 7, 2022 on, each article with its own heading, so VoiceOver, Save for Later and Listen work article by article, just as in this week’s issue.
How to get there: tap Past Issues at the top left, tap a year, then an issue.
Links to an Issue Open in the App
What it does: a link to an Access Information News issue, tapped in an email, a message or another issue, opens right in the app, at the article it points to, at its address today or its old one from 2022 to 2026. The “Review the most recent issues here” link in each issue opens Past Issues.
How to get there: tap the link anywhere on your iPhone or iPad.
Translate
What it does: shows the issue in another language with Apple’s own translation, on your device. Listen, Search and Saved stay in English.
How to get there: tap Translate, the globe button at the top left, then Choose a Language. Next time, the menu offers your last language first. Show the Original, in the same menu, brings the English back.
Reader View for Stories
What it does: a story you open from an issue shows just its words, without the website’s menus and ads, when the site has a story to show.
How to get there: tap any story link. To see the full web page instead, change Stories Show As in Settings, under Reading Preferences.
Listening
Listen
What it does: reads the issue aloud from the article at the top of the screen, highlights the heading being read, and keeps reading when the screen locks. Headphone and Lock Screen controls pause and resume it.
How to get there: tap Listen, in the bar at the bottom of the screen.
Previous, Next and Whole Sections
What it does: while Listen reads, Previous and Next move one article; touch and hold either one to move a whole section.
How to get there: the bar at the bottom while Listen reads: Previous, Pause or Play, Next and Stop.
With VoiceOver: the Previous Section and Next Section actions are on Previous and Next; swipe up or down to reach them.
Sleep Timer
What it does: pauses Listen after 15, 30 or 45 minutes, or 1 hour.
How to get there: while Listen reads, tap the moon button in the bar at the bottom, then choose a time, or Off.
Listen to All Saved
What it does: reads every article you saved, one after another.
How to get there: tap Saved, in the bar at the bottom, then Listen to All Saved.
Reading Speed and Voice
What it does: chooses Listen’s speed and voice in the app. Same as iPhone Settings uses the voice and speed you set for your iPhone’s Spoken Content.
How to get there: tap Settings, the gear button at the top right, then Reading Speed or Voice under Listening Preferences. Hear a Sample plays one sentence in your choices.
Listen Without Opening the App
What it does: starts Listen on the newest issue, hands free or with one press.
How to get there: say “Hey Siri, read me the latest Access Information News,” or “Hey Siri, read the latest Access Information News.” Or touch and hold the new-issue notification and choose Listen. Or use the Listen to the Newest Issue button in Control Center (see Control Center Button below).
Finding Articles
Search
What it does: searches every issue from 2022 to today, article by article, even with no connection, and opens the issue right at the article you pick. An older issue you have not opened before needs a connection the first time it opens.
How to get there: tap Search, in the bar at the bottom, and type a few words.
Topic Alerts
What it does: follow words or names, such as JAWS or braille. When a new issue mentions one, you get an alert naming the articles, right after the new-issue notification; tap it to go straight to the first one. Your device looks through the issue itself, so your topics never reach us; only your own Apple devices and your iCloud account have them. Topic Alerts arrive with the New Issue Notification, so adding a topic turns it on.
How to get there: tap Settings, the gear button at the top right, then Topic Alerts. Type a word or name in Topic to Follow, or several with commas between them, then tap Add Topic. To stop following one, tap it and tap Remove, or swipe left on it. You can follow up to 20 topics.
Events
What it does: lists the upcoming events from every issue, soonest first.
How to get there: tap Events, in the bar at the bottom. Tap an event to add it to your calendar; touch and hold it, or swipe left on it, to see it in its issue.
With VoiceOver: swipe up or down to Show in the Issue, then double-tap.
Your iPhone’s Own Search
What it does: finds articles from the iPhone’s own search, without opening the app.
How to get there: on the Home Screen, the iPhone’s main screen with all your app icons (from inside any app, swipe up from the very bottom edge of the screen), swipe down from the middle of the screen and type a few words.
Search with Siri
What it does: Siri asks what to look for and opens Search with it.
How to get there: say “Hey Siri, search Access Information News.”
Keeping and Sharing Articles
Save for Later
What it does: keeps an article in Saved, ready to read with no connection, and on your other Apple devices through your own iCloud account.
How to get there: tap Save for Later under any article; it then says Saved, Tap to Remove. In Search, swipe left on an article, or touch and hold it.
With VoiceOver: in Search, swipe up or down to Save for Later, then double-tap.
Saved
What it does: lists every article you saved, and every note and highlight under Notes and Highlights. Tap one to open its issue at that article.
How to get there: tap Saved, in the bar at the bottom. To remove one, swipe left on it and tap Remove; tap Edit to remove saved articles, or touch and hold a note or highlight and choose Remove.
With VoiceOver: swipe up or down to Remove, then double-tap.
Notes and Highlights
What it does: keeps your own words with any article, and marks passages in yellow, underlined; VoiceOver and braille say where each highlight starts and ends. Every note and highlight is listed in Saved and on your other Apple devices.
How to get there: tap Add a Note under any article. To highlight, select some words in the issue (touch and hold a word, then drag the handles), then choose Highlight, or Highlight and Add a Note, in the menu that appears. To change or delete a note, tap Edit Note under it; Delete Note, or Delete Highlight and Note, is on the same screen. In a translated issue, choose Show the Original first: highlights are made on the English.
Share an Article
What it does: sends a link that opens the issue at that article, in the app or on the website.
How to get there: tap Share under any article.
Share Issue
What it does: sends a link to the whole issue, or saves it as a text file or an EPUB book, for the Books app, the Files app, email, or a braille notetaker or book player.
How to get there: tap Share Issue, the share button at the top right, then Share a Link to This Issue, Save as a Text File or Save as an EPUB Book.
Add to Calendar
What it does: puts an event from the issue in your calendar, through Apple’s own New Event screen, with its time and link filled in.
How to get there: tap Add to Calendar under any event in the Featured Events section, or tap the event in Events.
Send to Access Information News
What it does: sends Access Information News a story you find anywhere. The Submit an Article form opens with the story’s link and title filled in. If the form cannot load, the screen says so, with Try Again.
How to get there: in Safari or another app, tap the Share button, then tap Access Information News in the row of app icons. Add your name and email, then tap Submit. Submit an Article is also in Settings, under Help.
Notifications, Widgets and Shortcuts
New Issue Notification
What it does: one notification each Monday, normally at 6:00 AM Eastern; the new issue downloads on its own overnight, ready to read. Tap the notification, even days later, to open the issue it names. A 1 on the app’s icon means a new issue is out that you have not opened yet. Only an anonymous code from Apple is kept, so the notification can reach your device.
How to get there: tap Turn On when the app first offers it, or tap Settings, the gear button at the top right, and turn on New Issue Notification.
Home Screen Widget
What it does: shows the newest issue’s date and volume; tap it to open the issue.
How to get there: on the Home Screen, touch and hold an empty spot until the icons jiggle, tap Edit, tap Add Widget (on iOS 17, tap the Add button at the top left instead), search for Access Information News, tap it, choose a size, tap Add Widget, then Done.
Lock Screen Widget
What it does: shows the newest issue on the Lock Screen, what you see when you wake your iPhone, before you unlock it.
How to get there: touch and hold the Lock Screen until Customize appears, tap Customize, tap Lock Screen, tap Add Widgets, tap Access Information News, then swipe down and tap Done.
Control Center Button
What it does: one press opens the newest issue and starts Listen. Needs iOS 18 or later.
How to get there: swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen, tap the Add button at the top left, tap Add a Control, search for Access Information News, and choose Listen to the Newest Issue.
App Icon Shortcuts
What it does: goes straight to Listen to the Newest Issue, Search or Saved.
How to get there: on the Home Screen, touch and hold the Access Information News icon, then choose one.
Siri
What it does: opens or reads the newest issue, or searches the issues, by voice.
How to get there: say “Hey Siri, open the latest Access Information News,” “Hey Siri, read me the latest Access Information News” (or “read the latest”), or “Hey Siri, search Access Information News.”
Keyboard Commands
With a keyboard connected to your iPhone or iPad:
- Command J opens Sections, Command Y opens Past Issues, and Command comma opens Settings.
- Reading an older issue, Command N goes back to the newest.
- When Listen is not reading: Command F searches, Command Shift S opens Saved, Command E opens Events, and Command Up Arrow goes back to the Section Jumper.
- Command L starts Listen, then pauses and resumes it. While it reads, Command right bracket and Command left bracket go to the next and previous article, and Command period stops it.
- VoiceOver’s own keyboard commands also move heading by heading. On an iPad, hold down the Command key to see all of the app’s commands.
On iPad
Sections Beside the Issue
What it does: on an iPad turned sideways, the issue’s sections sit beside the issue, and Saved, at the top of that list, shows your saved articles there instead.
How to get there: turn your iPad sideways.
Your Settings on Every Device
What it does: your settings, saved articles, notes and the place you left each issue follow you between your iPhone and iPad through your own iCloud account.
How to get there: sign in to the same iCloud account on both devices.
Settings
Tap Settings, the gear button at the top right of the issue. In order:
- New Issue Notification: the Monday notification, and Topic Alerts, the words and names you follow.
- Read Emoji in Headings: off by default, so VoiceOver and braille skip the emoji in each heading, and Listen skips every emoji.
- Help: Using the App (a shorter guide, inside the app), Contact Us, Submit an Article, Subscribe by Email and App Privacy.
- Buttons Under Each Article: Save for Later, Share and Add a Note, each with its own switch.
- Buttons Under Calendar Events: Add to Calendar, under every event in an issue’s Featured Events section.
- Text Size: Smallest, Smaller, Standard, Larger or Largest, on top of the size you choose for your iPhone.
- Light Mode / Dark Mode: Match iPhone, Light Mode or Dark Mode.
- Reading Preferences: Font (iPhone Font or Atkinson Hyperlegible), Colors (Default, Yellow on Black, White on Black or Black on White), Line Spacing (Standard, Wider or Widest), Open Links In (This App or The Safari App) and Stories Show As (Reader View or Full Web Page).
- Listening Preferences: Reading Speed and Voice, with Hear a Sample.
- Share Anonymous Reading Counts: which issues and articles are opened, saved, read aloud or kept on screen for 5 seconds or more, and which links are tapped, counted anonymously so we can learn what readers find most useful.
- This Version: the app’s version and build number.
Privacy and Help
What the app does with information is explained on its privacy page: https://accessinformationnews.com/app-privacy/
Questions or ideas: publisher@accessinformationnews.com 📧️
Access Information News is published by Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd.