Interim Accessibility Statement

Privacy and legal

How accessibility is approached in Octopus Scanner and the reports it produces, the features in place, the scope of what has been verified and what lies outside the application's control.

This statement covers Octopus Scanner on macOS and Windows, and this website in the section This website. It is an interim statement of design approach and implemented features, not a formal conformance claim against WCAG or any other standard.

1. Scope and current status

A clear statement of what has and has not been established, so you can judge whether the application meets your needs.

  • Accessibility is a release requirement: Every release is designed and reviewed with accessibility in mind, across the scanning interface, the generated reports and the macOS and Windows applications.
  • Full compatibility is not confirmed: Octopus Scanner is developed and maintained by a single developer. It has not yet undergone a full, independent audit, and it has not been tested against every combination of assistive technology, operating system and user setting. Compatibility beyond the features described below should not be assumed.
  • No formal conformance level is claimed: A conformance level will only be stated once it has been verified by a full audit. See Planned work.

2. HTML first, by design

The choice of format determines accessibility more than any individual fix, so the scanning interface and every report are built in HTML deliberately.

  • Why HTML and not PDF: A report is only useful if everyone who receives it can read it.
    • HTML works with every major screen reader, magnifier, voice control tool and browser extension. It reflows at any zoom level and follows system light, dark and contrast settings. It can be navigated by headings, landmarks and links.
    • The accessibility of a PDF depends on how thoroughly it has been tagged, and reading order, reflow and structure are frequently lost.
    • HTML makes compatibility the starting point rather than a later addition.
  • Opens anywhere: Reports are self-contained files that open in any modern browser without this application, an account or a plugin, so recipients can read them with the assistive technology they already use.
  • Alternative formats: Results can also be exported as CSV or JSON, for use in a spreadsheet, a screen-reader-friendly table or your own tooling.

3. The scanning interface and reports

The browser-based interface used to configure scans, and the reports it produces, are built to work with assistive technology.

  • Structure: Pages declare their language and use landmarks and headings, and skip links take keyboard users directly to the main content.
  • Labelled controls: Form fields have visible labels, and help text and error messages are programmatically linked to the fields they describe, so screen readers announce them together. Expandable sections, toggles and dialogs expose their state.
  • Announced status: Scan progress, results and errors are announced through live regions, so the state of a scan does not depend on watching the screen. Progress is announced every 10% or every minute, wherever focus is.
  • Time to sign in: A sign-in scan waits up to 20 hours for Confirm Login is Complete, so take as long as you need.
  • Keyboard support: The interface is built for keyboard operation, with a clearly visible focus indicator.
  • System preferences: The interface and reports respond to light and dark mode, reduced motion and Windows contrast themes (forced colours).
  • Interactive Mode: The on-page scanning panel is a labelled region, and its status and results are announced as they change.
  • Reports: Reports reflow on narrow screens and at high zoom, keep the focused control clear of the sticky issue toolbar, and print with all issue details shown and dark text on white.

4. The macOS application

The native window that runs the scanner on macOS is built with SwiftUI and follows macOS accessibility settings.

  • VoiceOver: Controls have spoken labels and hints, headings are marked as headings, and decorative images and animations are hidden from VoiceOver.
  • Reduce Motion: When Reduce Motion is on, animations are removed or replaced with a simple fade.
  • Increase Contrast: Log output switches to higher-contrast colours when Increase Contrast is on.
  • Differentiate Without Colour: When this setting is on, log entries show a symbol for their type, so meaning is not conveyed by colour alone.
  • Keyboard: Command+O opens the scanning interface and Command+, opens Preferences. Escape closes Preferences sub-pages and dialogs. When a confirmation such as Reset or Quit opens, focus moves to Cancel, and the controls behind it can't be reached until it closes.
  • Appearance: The window follows the system light or dark appearance.
  • Starting up: While the scanner starts, the window shows a labelled region naming each step, which VoiceOver announces, and the activity log can be shown instead at any point.

5. The Windows application

The native window that runs the scanner on Windows is built with WPF and follows Windows accessibility settings.

  • Screen readers: Controls expose names and help text to Narrator and other screen readers through UI Automation, including names that update with a control's state. Scanner status changes are announced through a polite live region.
  • Keyboard: Controls are reachable by keyboard and activated with Enter or Space. Alt+O opens the scanning interface and Alt+P opens Preferences. Escape closes panels and dismisses notifications, Tab cycles through the window, and focus returns to its previous position when a panel closes.
  • Text size: Text scales with the Windows "Make text bigger" setting, up to 225%.
  • Contrast themes: The window adopts the system colours of the active contrast theme, including scroll bars, progress bars and menus, and updates immediately if the theme changes while it is open.
  • Visible focus: Every control, the activity log, menus and dialog buttons show a clear focus outline. Opening a Preferences page moves focus to it, and Back returns focus to where you were.
  • Animation: Motion is reduced when Windows animation effects are turned off.
  • Appearance and display scaling: The window follows the app theme and renders sharply at any display scaling and across multiple monitors.
  • Starting up: While the scanner starts, the window shows a named region describing each step, and the activity log can be shown instead at any point.

6. Idle Screen

The optional full-screen display that appears when the computer has been idle, showing the time or the progress of a running scan, is built to the same expectations as the rest of the application.

  • Reduce Motion: When Reduce Motion is on, the drifting background, the pulsing status indicator and the rolling clock digits are all stopped, and the screen appears without animation.
  • Contrast: Increase Contrast on macOS and Windows contrast themes both switch the screen to system colours.
  • Announced state: Screen readers are told when the screen appears, and again when a scan completes.
  • Returning: Any key, click, scroll or movement of the mouse dismisses it, and that key press or click is not passed on to whatever is underneath.
  • Not a lock screen: It hides what is on screen but does not lock the device, and does not replace the security of the system lock screen or display timeout.

7. This website

How accessibility is approached on this website. It aims to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA, but this is not a formal conformance claim. This section was last reviewed on 24 October 2026.

  • Checked with automated testing: Every time the site is built, every page is checked with axe-core in the light and dark themes, and checked for sideways scrolling at 320 and 375 pixels wide. No issues were found in the review on 24 October 2026. Automated testing cannot find every barrier; see Scope of Automated Testing.
  • Keyboard access: Every link and control can be reached and used with a keyboard, and focus is always visible. A skip link at the top of each page jumps straight to the main content. Long contents lists and the home page's groups of cards have their own skip links, and the build checks that each one moves focus to its target.
  • Reflow and zoom: Every page reflows to a width of 320 pixels, equivalent to 400% zoom, without scrolling sideways.
  • Light and dark themes: The site follows your system's light or dark setting, and the theme button lets you choose either.
  • Motion: Animations are gentle and switch off when your system's reduce motion setting is on. The changing cards on the home page have a Pause button, stop while the pointer or keyboard focus is in their section and never change a card you are using. On narrow screens, such as phones, where the cards stack in a single column, they don't change at all.
  • Contrast settings: The site supports Windows contrast themes and the system setting to increase contrast.
  • Search: The guide search is a labelled search area, and the number of results is announced to screen readers.
  • Works without scripts: Every page can be read with JavaScript turned off. The guide search and the changing cards need JavaScript, and everything they show is also on the guide and feature pages.
  • Readable type: Text uses Atkinson Hyperlegible Next, a typeface designed by the Braille Institute for low-vision readers, served from this website.
  • Not yet done: The website has not yet been tested with screen reader users or other assistive technology users. Please report any barrier using the contact details below.

8. Third-party platforms

The application is distributed through, and relies on, software and platforms operated by others, whose accessibility is outside the developer's control.

  • itch.io (legacy): Earlier release notes and information remain on Octopus Scanner's legacy itch.io page. The application checks this website for updates and only falls back to that page if it cannot get the latest version information from this website. The design, code and accessibility of that site, including its navigation, download pages and account features, are controlled by its operator and are not covered by this statement.
  • Google Chrome: Scanning requires Google Chrome, and the browser window shown during a scan, including when you sign in or record a user journey, is Chrome's own interface. The accessibility of Chrome is the responsibility of Google and is not covered by this statement.
  • Platform barriers: Barriers on those sites and in that software should be reported to their operators. If one prevents you from downloading the application or reading its documentation, contact the address below and an alternative will be arranged.

9. Known limitations

  • Scanned websites: During a scan, Chrome displays the site being audited. The accessibility of that site is the responsibility of its owner, not of this application.
  • Language: The application, its reports and its documentation are available in English only.
  • Screenshots: Report screenshots are images of the scanned page, provided to support the written findings.
  • Unverified areas: Until a full audit is complete, issues may exist that have not yet been identified. Any accessibility issue reported is treated as a bug.

10. Planned work

This interim statement will be replaced by a formal one, based on a complete audit. The work below is planned, but no date has been set; it will be carried out as development time allows, and this statement will be updated when it begins.

  • Full WCAG audit: A complete end-to-end audit against WCAG, covering the scanning interface, the generated reports and the macOS and Windows applications.
  • In-depth interface evaluation: A detailed evaluation of the application with assistive technology, to ensure the interface controls and the generated reports meet the standard.
  • Official accessibility statement: A formal statement based on the audit's findings, stating the conformance level achieved and any known issues, published in place of this one.

11. Feedback and reporting a barrier

  • Reports are welcomed and appreciated: Feedback from users is one of the most valuable ways of finding issues that testing has not reached. Any accessibility issue, however small, is worth reporting.
  • How to report: Email support@octopusscanner.com, or use Report Bug in the application, which opens a draft in your own email client with the application version, platform, browser details and, if you have run a scan, the last scan ID filled in, and nothing attached. Where possible, include your operating system, any assistive technology you use and what you were trying to do.
  • Fixes: Fixes are shipped in a new version of the application, prioritised when an issue prevents the application from being used.

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