Truly Visual Caller ID? An Analysis of Anti-Robocall Applications and their Accessibility to Visually Impaired Users

Robocalls interrupt daily activity, cause financial harm, and influence users to ignore calls from unfamiliar numbers. Service providers and developers have created Anti-Robocall applications to attempt to restore trust in the phone and decrease the impact of robocalls on daily life. However, whether or not such applications meet accessibility standards and are therefore usable by vulnerable populations, particularly the visually impaired, is unknown. In this paper, we use a combination of the W3C’s Mobile Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (MWCAG) and interviews with 11 visually impaired users to establish accessibility metrics for Anti-Robocall applications. We then evaluate 56 Anti-Robocall applications for Android to assess whether they met the needs of the visually impaired community. Our results indicate that 100% of the applications fail to meet all basic accessibility guidelines including minimum color contrast, button labels (to assist screen readers), and automatic audible alerts. As a result, we show that despite the availability of a variety of tools to help developers identify and correct these problems, this important class of applications does not meet basic accessibility requirements. We conclude by suggesting viable paths forward that ensure inclusion and protection for the visually impaired community.