Accessibility Statement

Our Commitment

FriendRE is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people of all abilities. We continually work to improve the user experience for everyone and apply the relevant accessibility standards to make our platform as inclusive as possible.

We aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities.

Accessibility Features

FriendRE includes the following accessibility features built into the platform:

Visual

• Dark mode — Full dark theme support to reduce eye strain and improve readability in low-light environments.
• High contrast mode — Increases contrast between text and backgrounds for improved visibility.
• Adjustable font size — Four font size options (small, medium, large, extra-large) that apply across the entire site.
• Dyslexia-friendly font — Optional OpenDyslexic typeface designed to increase readability for users with dyslexia.
• Reading mode — Larger text, serif font, and increased spacing for comfortable long-form reading.

Motor & Navigation

• Full keyboard navigation — All interactive elements are reachable and operable via keyboard.
• Enhanced focus indicators — Optional visible focus outlines for keyboard navigation.
• Skip links — Skip-to-content and skip-to-navigation links at the top of every page.
• Minimum touch targets — All interactive elements meet the 44px minimum touch target size for mobile users.
• Command palette — Keyboard shortcut (Ctrl/Cmd+K) to quickly navigate to any section of the site.

Motion & Sensory

• Reduced motion — Disables animations and transitions for users who are sensitive to motion. Respects the prefers-reduced-motion system setting.
• Haptic feedback control — Optional vibration feedback on mobile devices that can be turned off.

Screen Readers

• Screen reader optimized mode — Enhanced ARIA announcements and descriptions for assistive technology.
• Semantic HTML — Proper heading hierarchy, landmark regions, and ARIA labels throughout the site.
• Alt text — Images include descriptive alternative text.
• Form labels — All form inputs have associated labels for screen reader identification.

How to Customize Your Experience

You can adjust all accessibility settings from your profile:

1. Click your profile picture in the top navigation bar
2. Select Settings
3. Navigate to the Accessibility tab
4. Toggle the features that work best for you

Your preferences are saved locally in your browser and apply immediately — no page reload required.

Known Limitations

While we strive for full accessibility, some areas of the site may have limitations:

• Third-party embedded content (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram videos) may not fully meet WCAG standards, as they are controlled by their respective platforms.
• Some interactive map features (Leaflet) may have limited keyboard and screen reader support.
• User-generated content (posts, comments, images) may not always include alternative text or proper formatting.