Accessible Edition: Practice with Your Screen Reader, Big Text and More

Who it is for

People who are blind or have low vision and use a screen reader, a magnifier, big text or high contrast.
People with limited hand movement or a tremor, who find swipes, drags or small buttons hard, or who use the keyboard instead of a mouse.
People who are deaf or hard of hearing. Every lesson instruction is written on the screen, so sound is never needed to learn.
People with memory or attention difficulties, and first-time users, who want one clear step at a time.
Family members, caregivers and instructors who help someone learn.

What you can practice today

On SafePhone (practice smartphone)

A practice screen reader that works like the real one. One tap reads an item aloud and puts a green box around it, two quick taps open it, a swipe right or left moves to the next or previous item, and two fingers scroll. Turn it on in Settings, then Accessibility, or with the volume-key shortcut, just like on a real phone. Everything it says is also written on screen. You can change the reading speed.
A practice screen reader that reads aloud whatever you touch. Turn it on in Settings, then Accessibility, just like on a real phone. On this practice phone, one tap reads the item and opens it. On most real phones you tap twice.
12 screen reader lessons: turn it on and off, explore the screen by touch, open an app, scroll, read and write a text message, answer a call, and more.
Bigger and bolder text: Settings, then Display size and text, up to twice the normal size.
Bigger and bolder text: Settings, then Display size and text.
Magnifier practice: turn on magnification and zoom like on a real phone (triple tap on an empty spot, pinch, move with two fingers). On a computer: Ctrl and the mouse wheel, or Alt + M.
A high contrast theme, high contrast text, grayscale colors, dark theme and Remove animations.
High contrast text, grayscale colors, dark theme and Remove animations.
"Read to me" on every lesson step, or have each step read aloud automatically, with the voice and speed you choose.
Live captions, on by default: every sound, vibration and caller's voice is also written on the screen, and notifications can flash the screen.
Simple mode: Settings, then Accessibility, then Simple mode (or the banner at the top of the Lessons app). Bigger buttons and text, lessons that start at the easiest level with a big "Show me" button that points to where to tap, and no surprise pop-ups.
6 low-vision lessons: make everything bigger, bold text, high contrast, and three magnifier lessons.
4 "Make it easier to use" lessons: a tour of the Accessibility settings, more time to read messages before they disappear, Simple mode, and a shortcut that turns magnification on and off.
Voice typing: a lesson shows where the microphone is in the message box, so you can write a text by talking instead of typing. On this practice phone you tap the words you would say; on a real phone you just speak.
3-button navigation instead of swipe gestures, with the Back, Home and Recent apps buttons always on screen.
The keyboard: Enter unlocks the phone, Alt + N opens the notification shade, Alt + R shows your recent apps and Alt + A shows all apps. You can also pinch or zoom the page.

On SafePC (practice computer)

The whole desktop works with the keyboard: Tab moves between items, Enter or Space opens them, and the Start button is a real button.
A practice screen reader with the real keys of a computer screen reader: Ctrl + Alt + Enter turns it on and off, Tab moves from item to item, the arrows and H read line by line and heading by heading, the reader key (Caps Lock or Insert) + R reads everything, and Ctrl stops it. It reads the practice web pages and windows aloud, its speed can be changed, and what it says is also written on screen.
12 screen reader lessons: turn it on, move with Tab, open an app without the mouse, read a whole window, read an email, fill in a form and save a file by listening, and more.
Simple mode: Settings, then Accessibility (or the "Prefer it simpler?" banner in the exercises). Bigger buttons, text at least 125 %, exercises that start at the easiest level with a "Show me" button, and no surprise pop-ups: they wait in the notification panel by the clock, still captioned.
A thick, two-color focus outline shows where you are.
Bigger text: window contents from 100 to 200 %, and your browser's zoom works everywhere.
Your browser's zoom works everywhere, and SafePC has its own display and text-size settings.
Magnifier practice: zoom from 150 to 400 %, following the mouse and the keyboard, with Ctrl + Alt + plus or minus.
A real high contrast theme, which also applies to the practice web pages, and a larger mouse pointer.
6 low-vision lessons: make the text and the mouse pointer bigger, high contrast, and three magnifier lessons.
"Read to me" on every lesson step, or have each step read aloud automatically, with the voice and speed you choose (Settings, then Accessibility, then Lessons).
Live captions, on by default: every sound, and the music and videos of the practice apps, are also written on the screen. Notifications can flash the screen.

In every lesson

Three levels: Beginner shows a big arrow and a plain instruction, Intermediate shows a hint, and Advanced gives the goal only.
A Skip step button is always there if a gesture is too hard.
Large, high-contrast text and the Atkinson Hyperlegible typeface, designed for readers with low vision.

What comes next

We keep improving the accessible edition and adding real-life lesson packs, and every new lesson works with the tools above. See what's new.

Screen reader practice on SafePhone that works like the real one (tap to hear, double-tap to open, swipe to move), with step-by-step lessons.
Screen reader practice on SafePC with the real keys (Tab, headings, read all), with step-by-step lessons.
Magnifier practice and a high contrast theme.
"Read to me" on every lesson step, and live captions.
Simple mode: one easy step at a time, bigger buttons and a "Show me" hint.

Voices

SafePhone's practice screen reader speaks with the voices already built into your device and web browser. There is nothing to install and nothing extra to pay. To get a clearer or more natural voice, add one on your device:

Windows: Settings, then Time & language, then Speech, then Add voices.
Mac: System Settings, then Accessibility, then Spoken Content, then System voice.
iPhone and iPad: Settings, then Accessibility, then Spoken Content, then Voices.
Android: Settings, then Accessibility, then Text-to-speech output.

Restart your web browser after adding a voice so it can use it.

TryTechSafe works with the screen reader you already use: NVDA, JAWS or Narrator on Windows, VoiceOver on a Mac, iPhone or iPad, and TalkBack on Android.

Create your free account. Go to My account. The form has four labeled fields: first name, email, password and "Type your password again". Each password field has a "Show password" button. The form ends with a "Create my free account" button. If something is wrong, the message is read out right away.
Open your dashboard. After signing in, choose "My dashboard". Each practice device has a heading, SafePC and SafePhone, followed by an "Open" link. The links say that they open in a new tab.
In SafePhone, keep SafePhone's own practice screen reader off while your real screen reader is on, so you do not hear two voices. Use the keyboard shortcuts listed above, or 3-button navigation, instead of swipes.
In SafePC, press Tab to move through the desktop and Enter to open the item you are on.

Our practice apps are drawn to look like a real phone and computer. Some of their controls are not yet announced as clearly as on this website, and we are fixing that now. Our accessibility statement lists what we tested and what is left. If something gets in your way, email us. We will help you directly and fix it first.

Same price for everyone

The accessible edition is not a separate product. Every accessibility feature is included in every plan, the free plan too, at the same price. See the plans.

Practice your phone and computer, your way