Talkback

TalkBack is a screen reader developed by Google for the Android operating system. It provides spoken, auditory, and haptic feedback to assist users who are blind or have low vision in navigating devices and interacting with apps. When active, TalkBack describes on-screen elements such as buttons, lists, and text as the user moves through the interface.

TalkBack relies on touch and gesture input for navigation. Typical interactions include swiping left or right to move to the next item, a double-tap to activate a focused element, and two-finger gestures to scroll or access additional actions. The service can read punctuation and formatting according to user preferences, and it supports multiple languages, adjustable speech rate and pitch, and external Braille displays via Bluetooth.

As part of Android’s accessibility offerings, TalkBack has evolved from an independent accessibility app into a component of the Android Accessibility Suite. It is available on most Android devices, either built-in or obtainable through the Google Play Store, depending on the version and device manufacturer. Enabling TalkBack usually involves navigating to Settings, Accessibility, and turning on TalkBack or selecting the Accessibility Suite option on the device.

TalkBack interacts with apps through the Android accessibility framework, which allows it to describe interface elements and assist with navigation. It is designed to enable users to read screen content, launch applications, and perform tasks by listening to spoken feedback and using gesture-based controls, while remaining separate from standard input methods.

See also: Android Accessibility Suite, Screen reader, Accessibility features in Android.