Accessibility
Facebook is committed to creating a great experience for all people. Learn about the built-in features and technologies that help people with disabilities, like vision loss and deafness, to get the most out of Facebook.
For more information, visit our Accessibility Facebook Page and follow @fbaccess on Twitter.
Keyboard Shortcuts
What are keyboard shortcuts?
Facebook has shortcuts (access keys) for people who only use their keyboards to navigate. If you experience an issue using keyboard shortcuts, please let us know. Keep in mind that keyboard shortcuts can differ by browser (ex: Firefox, Internet Explorer).
Key Combinations for Different Browsers
Find the right combination of keys for your browser in the list below, and replace # with the access key number listed under Access Keys below.
- Internet Explorer for PC: Alt + #, then Enter
- Firefox for PC: Shift + Alt + #
- Safari for Mac: Ctrl + Opt + #
- Firefox for Mac: Ctrl + Opt + #
- Chrome for Mac: Ctrl + Opt + #
- Chrome for PC: Alt + #
Access Keys
- 0 - Help
- 1 - Home
- 2 - Timeline
- 3 - Friends
- 4 - Inbox
- 5 – Notifications
- 6 – Settings
- 7 - Activity Log
- 8 - About
- 9 - Terms
News Feed Keyboard Shortcuts
Some common screen readers (ex: VoiceOver, JAWS) support Facebook's general keyboard shortcuts.
If you're using JAWS 16.0.2136 or higher, you first need to turn on Allow Web Application Reserved Keystrokes in the JAWS Settings Center or Quick Settings.
To turn on shortcuts for JAWS:
- Use Insert + F2.
- Select Run Settings Center.
- Search for "web app."
- Check the box next to Allow Web Applications Reserved Keystrokes. Make sure that you edit the default file.
If you're using VoiceOver, the keyboard shortcuts will automatically work:
- j and k - Scroll between News Feed stories
- enter/return - See more of the selected story
- p - Post a new status
- l - Like or unlike the selected story
- c - Comment on the selected story
- s - Share the selected story
- o - Open an attachment from the selected story
- / - Search
- q - Search chat contacts
- ? - Open a list of these keyboard shortcuts while in News Feed
Web Messenger Keyboard Shortcuts
- CTRL + g - Search conversations
- CTRL + q - Show/hide keyboard shortcuts
- CTRL + Delete - Archive/unarchive conversation
- CTRL + j - Mark as spam
- CTRL + m - Start a new message
- CTRL + i - Go to Inbox
- CTRL + u - Go to Other
You can use Facebook's keyboard shortcuts with the following screen readers:
- JAWS (Version 16+): Go to Settings Center or Quick Settings, and turn on Allow Web Application Reserved Keystrokes
- Window-Eyes (Version 9.2+): Turn on Web Application Mode
- VoiceOver (Any Version): Facebook's keyboard shortcuts will automatically work with VoiceOver
There are many third-party screen readers available. Learn which screen readers you can use for Facebook.
No. You can't turn off Facebook's keyboard shortcuts.
You can improve the performance of your keyboard shortcuts by upgrading your web browsers and operating systems. Keyboard shortcuts only work if you aren't in an edit input field.
Screen Readers and Assistive Technology
If you're experiencing a problem with assistive software or hardware on Facebook, use this form to let us know. Please include as much information as possible to help us understand the problem.
If you're experiencing issues with Facebook that aren't related to assistive technology, learn how to report a broken feature.
If you're on a Mac computer, try using Apple's built-in screen reader VoiceOver. If your Mac uses OS X El Capitan and you're not hearing anything when using VoiceOver with Google Chrome, try switching to another browser (ex: Safari).
If you're on a Windows computer, try using:
If you're on a mobile phone or tablet, try using:
How can I use my screen reader to hear the letters and numbers I have to type to complete a captcha?
When signing up for an account or passing a security check in Facebook, you may have to complete a captcha by manually typing a group of letters and numbers that are displayed on your screen.
If you’re using Facebook with a screen reader, there are audio alternatives to the written captchas. To use an audio captcha and hear the letters and numbers you have to type, click an audio captcha. If you have any problems with the audio captcha, use this form to let us know.
Some of our security checkpoints can be difficult to pass using assistive technology. If you add a mobile number to your Facebook account, you'll have another way to verify your account if you need to pass any of these checkpoints. Keep in mind that these checkpoints may require internet access.
You can add a mobile number from your mobile settings. These checkpoints are in place for the benefit of everyone who uses Facebook, so we're working on making them more accessible.
Learn how to control who can see your contact information on your profile.
VoiceOver is Apple's built-in screen reader. To turn VoiceOver on or off on your computer, press command + F5.
To turn VoiceOver on or off on your mobile iOS device:
- Go to your device's home screen
- Tap
Settings - Tap General > Accessibility > VoiceOver
- Tap VoiceOver to turn it on or off
If dates are being read as numbers (ex: 2014 as "two, zero, one, four" instead of "two-thousand fourteen") by VoiceOver on your computer, try changing your verbosity setting.
To change the verbosity setting:
- Press VO (command + option or caps lock) + v on your keyboard to access settings
- Press n to jump to the numbers settings
- Select Word, and then press Return to save
Draw the letter "Z" with two fingers to dismiss a pop-up menu while using VoiceOver with Facebook on your iPhone or iPad.
Automatic alternative (alt) text is a feature that uses object recognition technology to create a description of a photo for the blind and vision-loss community. The description provided by automatic alt text can't be edited.
To hear the automatic alt text for a photo, access Facebook with a screen reader and focus on the image. If objects are identified, you'll hear a list of items the photo may contain.
If you're using the Facebook app for Android, you can use automatic alt text to hear a description of photos before you upload them. To hear a description of a photo before you upload it, open Facebook using TalkBack and long press (double tap and hold) on the photo in your camera roll.
If you're browsing Facebook on mbasic.facebook.com, you'll need to switch data usage to More to use automatic alt text:
- Tap Settings and Privacy at the bottom of the page
- Tap General
- Tap Edit next to Data Usage
- Tap More
- Tap Save
Automatic alt text is supported in the following languages:
- Arabic
- Bengali
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Gujarati
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Marathi
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Thai
- Turkish
- Vietnamese
If you're experiencing any issues with this feature, please report it.
Closed Captions and Media
You can add captions to a video to make it accessible to a broader audience using the SubRip (.srt) file format. If you’re just getting started, learn about naming conventions for .srt files and common .srt formatting issues.
To add captions to your video:
- Click
Photo/Video at the top of your Timeline or News Feed. - Click Upload Photos/Video.
- Choose a video from your computer, then click Post.
- We'll notify you when your video is ready to view. Click the notification or the gray date and time at the top of the post on your News Feed or Timeline.
- Hover over the video, click Options at the bottom and select Edit this video.
- Click Choose File below Upload SRT files and select a .srt file from your computer.
- Click Save.
To add captions in other languages, repeat steps 4–7 for each additional language you want to add.
To remove captions from a video you've uploaded:
- Click your video to expand it
- Click Options at the bottom and select Edit This Video from the menu
- Click the X next to the file you want to remove
- Click Save
Learn how to add captions to your Page's video.
You can add captions to your Page's video to make it accessible to a broader audience. You can either automatically generate captions and edit them, or you can upload a SubRip (.srt) file.
Automatically Generate Captions for Your Page's Video
- Click Share a photo or video at the top of your Page's Timeline
- Click Upload Photos/Video and select a video from your computer
- Click Publish
- Once your video has been published, click Generate from the banner at the top of your post
- Edit the captions and click Save to Video
Add Captions to Your Page's Video With a SubRip (.srt) File:
- Click Share a photo or video at the top of your Page's Timeline.
- Click Upload Photos/Video and select a video from your computer.
- Click Captions, then click Upload SRT File.
- Choose a .srt file from your computer.
- Select an optional Default Language. If you select a default language, captions will appear in this language when a viewer's preferred language isn't available.
- Finish adding details to your video and click Publish.
To add captions to an existing video on your Page, find the post on your Page's Timeline, click 
in the top-right corner, select Edit Post and follow the steps above.
in the top-right corner, select Edit Post and follow the steps above.Note: People who watch your Page's video with sound turned off will automatically see captions. People who watch your video with sound turned on will need to turn on captions to see them. The language people see captions in is determined by their preferred language.
The naming convention for SubRip (.srt) files is:
filename.[language code]_[country code].srt
Listed below are valid language and country code combinations. Learn how to use a .srt file to add captions to your video or your Page's video.
- af_ZA (Afrikaans)
- ar_AR (Arabic)
- ay_BO (Aymara)
- az_AZ (Azerbaijani)
- be_BY (Belarusian)
- bg_BG (Bulgarian)
- bn_IN (Bengali)
- bs_BA (Bosnian)
- ca_ES (Catalan)
- ck_US (Cherokee)
- cs_CZ (Czech)
- cx_PH (Cebuano)
- cy_GB (Welsh)
- da_DK (Danish)
- de_DE (German)
- el_GR (Greek)
- en_GB (English - UK)
- en_IN (English - India)
- en_US (English - US)
- eo_EO (Esperanto)
- es_CL (Spanish - Chile)
- es_CO (Spanish - Colombia)
- es_ES (Spanish - Spain)
- es_LA (Spanish)
- es_MX (Spanish - Mexico)
- es_VE (Spanish - Venezuela)
- et_EE (Estonian)
- eu_ES (Basque)
- fa_IR (Persian)
- fi_FI (Finnish)
- fo_FO (Faroese)
- fr_CA (French - Canada)
- fr_FR (French - France)
- fy_NL (Frisian)
- ga_IE (Irish)
- gl_ES (Galician)
- gn_PY (Guarani)
- gu_IN (Gujarati)
- gx_GR (Classical Greek)
- he_IL (Hebrew)
- hi_IN (Hindi)
- hr_HR (Croatian)
- hu_HU (Hungarian)
- hy_AM (Armenian)
- id_ID (Indonesian)
- is_IS (Icelandic)
- it_IT (Italian)
- ja_JP (Japanese)
- jv_ID (Javanese)
- ka_GE (Georgian)
- kk_KZ (Kazakh)
- km_KH (Khmer)
- kn_IN (Kannada)
- ko_KR (Korean)
- ku_TR (Kurdish)
- la_VA (Latin)
- li_NL (Limburgish)
- lt_LT (Lithuanian)
- lv_LV (Latvian)
- mg_MG (Malagasy)
- mk_MK (Macedonian)
- ml_IN (Malayalam)
- mn_MN (Mongolian)
- mr_IN (Marathi)
- ms_MY (Malay)
- mt_MT (Maltese)
- nb_NO (Norwegian - Bokmal)
- ne_NP (Nepali)
- nl_BE (Dutch - Belgium)
- nl_NL (Dutch)
- nn_NO (Norwegian - Nynorsk)
- pa_IN (Punjabi)
- pl_PL (Polish)
- ps_AF (Pashto)
- pt_BR (Portuguese - Brazil)
- pt_PT (Portuguese - Portugal)
- qu_PE (Quechua)
- rm_CH (Romansh)
- ro_RO (Romanian)
- ru_RU (Russian)
- sa_IN (Sanskrit)
- se_NO (Northern Sami)
- sk_SK (Slovak)
- sl_SI (Slovenian)
- so_SO (Somali)
- sq_AL (Albanian)
- sr_RS (Serbian)
- sv_SE (Swedish)
- sw_KE (Swahili)
- sy_SY (Syriac)
- ta_IN (Tamil)
- te_IN (Telugu)
- tg_TJ (Tajik)
- th_TH (Thai)
- tl_PH (Filipino)
- tr_TR (Turkish)
- tt_RU (Tatar)
- uk_UA (Ukrainian)
- ur_PK (Urdu)
- uz_UZ (Uzbek)
- vi_VN (Vietnamese)
- xh_ZA (Xhosa)
- yi_DE (Yiddish)
- zh_CN (Simplified Chinese - China)
- zh_HK (Traditional Chinese - Hong Kong)
- zh_TW (Traditional Chinese - Taiwan)
- zu_ZA (Zulu)
You can make your photos and photos you add to notes more accessible by including captions. A photo caption provides a text description for people who view it using assistive technologies.
To add a caption to your photo before you post:
- Click or tab to Say something about this photo
- Type your caption
- When you're finished, click Post
We also use automatic alternative text to generate photo descriptions automatically for the blind and vision-loss community.
You can turn Facebook's video autoplay settings on or off. To stop videos from playing automatically on your computer:
- From the top right of Facebook, click
and select Settings - Click Videos in the left menu
- Click the dropdown menu next to Autoplay Videos and select Off
Learn how to turn off autoplay videos on your mobile phone.
You can adjust what video captions look like in your video settings.
- Click Edit next to Captions Display
- Click
to adjust your settings for: - Background Color: the color of the caption's background
- Background Opacity: how transparent the caption's background is
- Text Color: the color of the caption's text
- Text Size: how big the caption's text is
- Check the caption preview to see how your caption will look
- Click Save Changes
Your caption settings will only apply to videos you watch on a desktop computer.
Desktop Computer
You can adjust your video settings to make sure captions show on videos, when available.
- Click
- Click Videos
- Click Off
next to Always Show Captions
- Select On to turn on captions for Facebook videos, when available
Note: Your caption settings will only apply to videos you watch on a desktop computer.
iOS
If you're using an iOS device, you can adjust your device settings to show captions, when available.
- Go to your device's home screen
- Tap Settings
- Tap General > Accessibility > Subtitles & Captioning
- Tap next to Closed Captions + SDH to turn on captions for videos, when available.
Text Size and Contrast
Short text posts may appear larger than any device preferences you have set.
To adjust the text size of Facebook on a computer, use the built-in zooming feature for your browser:
- Hold down ctrl (PC) or cmd (Mac) on your keyboard
- Press + to zoom in or - to zoom out
To zoom in and out of Facebook for mobile, use the zoom (on iOS) or magnify (on Android) feature.
iOS Devices
To turn zoom on:
- Go to your phone or tablet's home screen
- Tap Settings
- Tap General
> Accessibility > Zoom - Tap next Zoom to turn it on
To use zoom:
- Hide/Show Magnifier: Using 3 fingers, double-tap the screen
- Zoom: Using 3 fingers, double-tap and hold anywhere outside of the magnifier, then swipe up or down to zoom in or out
- Move Magnifier: Tap and hold, and then drag the edge of the magnifier to move it around the screen
- Scroll: Use 3 fingers to scroll what's being magnified
Android Devices
To turn magnify on:
- Go to your phone's visual accessibility settings
- Tap Magnification Gestures
- Tap to turn on magnification gestures
To use magnify:
- Hide/Show Magnifier:Tap the screen 3 times with 1 finger
- Zoom: Pinch fingers or spread them apart to zoom in or out
- Move Magnifier: Pinch, hold and drag to move the magnifier around the screen
You may also be able to adjust zoom preferences on Android mobile web browsers.
You can also adjust the text size of your device to increase visibility.
To adjust the text contrast of Facebook on a computer, you'll need to adjust the display preferences for your computer.
If you're using an Apple device:
- Open System Preferences
- Click Accessibility
- Click Display
- Click to check the box next to Invert Colors
If you're using a Windows device, you can change the contrast settings under the Ease of Access settings.
Messenger
To open conversation settings in the Messenger app for iOS using VoiceOver:
- Turn on VoiceOver
- Open Messenger
- Tap a conversation to select it
- Swipe up or down to select one of the following actions:
- Activate: Opens the conversation
- Mute: Stops all notifications for this conversation from popping up
- Delete: Deletes the conversation
- More: Opens the more options menu, which includes the following: Leave Group, Mark as Spam, Archive and Mark as Unread
- Double tap to select an action
Messenger.com Heading Structure
Messenger.com includes the following headings to make navigation with a screen reader easier:
- H2 Heading (1 of 2): A heading with the text Conversation List that marks the start of your list of conversations.
- H2 Heading (2 of 2): A heading containing the names of the people in the current conversation or the title of the conversation if you've named it. It marks the start of the main content.
- H3 Heading: A heading in the main content with the text Messages. It marks the start of the messages that are shown for the current conversation.
- H4 Heading: Headings in the message region containing a date or timestamp. Each one marks the start of a block of messages in the current conversation that began at the specified date or time.
- H5 Heading: Headings in the message region containing the name of a participant. Each one marks the start of a block of messages in the current conversation from the specified person.
Messenger.com ARIA Landmarks
Messenger.com includes the following landmarks to make navigation with a screen reader easier:
- Banner Navigation: The banner at the top of the page, which includes access to settings, a link for starting a new conversation and search.
- Conversations Navigation: The left side of the page, which includes a list of all of your conversations. Activating a link to a conversation in this list will display it in the main content.
- Main Navigation: The main content, which includes information, past messages and the message composer for the currently displayed conversation.
To start a new conversation in Messenger.com using a screen reader:
- Activate
New Message, button in the banner section - To add recipients, focus on Type the name of a person or group and enter a person or group. Use the arrow keys to select an option, and press the enter key to add the recipient.
- Focus on the Type a message field at the bottom and enter the text that you want to send.
- Press the enter key to begin your conversation.
- To review your message, navigate to the appropriate heading structure.
To respond to a message in Messenger.com using a screen reader:
- Navigate to the conversations list on the left.
- Locate the desired conversation in the table and activate its link, which will move focus to the Type a message field.
- Focus on the Type a message field at the bottom and enter the text that you want to send.
- Your screen reader may announce the content of the last message in the conversation and who sent it
- Windows screen readers will announce the description with their commands for reading the field name and contents.
- VoiceOver users can access the description by pressing ctrl-option-shift-h on the keyboard.
- Enter the text that you want to send and press the enter key to send it.
- To review your message, navigate to the appropriate heading structure.
News Feed
To navigate your News Feed on the Facebook app for iOS using VoiceOver:
- Swipe right or left using 1 finger to move forward or backward through posts
- Swipe up or down using 3 fingers to scroll through News Feed.
News Feed Heading Structure
Your News Feed has headings that you can navigate with screen readers:
- Home is an h1 heading
- News Feed is an h2 heading and marks the beginning of your News Feed stories
- Friend requests, messages and notifications are h3 headings that appear when you click one of the icons
- The chat sidebar is an h4 heading, as are the subheadings for favorites, groups, friends, apps and other popular features
- Individual stories in News Feed have h5 headings
- Ads have h6 headings
News Feed ARIA Landmarks
ARIA document landmarks are used to represent the major parts of News Feed. Besides the main, banner, search and content info landmarks, other navigational landmarks have appropriate labels. For example, the bookmarks menu in the left column is marked as a navigational landmark with an appropriate heading.
You can change your account settings, privacy settings and visit the Help Center from menu options in the banner landmark region.
Check your messages, friend requests and notifications by using the buttons in the banner landmark region on any page.
To like, comment on or share a post using a screen reader:
Facebook for computer (www.facebook.com)
- From News Feed, move your screen reader focus to the desired post's Like, Comment or Share option.
- Press the enter (return) key to select an option.
Facebook for iOS (OS 8.0+) using VoiceOver rotor
- From News Feed, swipe right or left (or tap) using 1 finger to move VoiceOver focus to the desired post.
- Swipe up or down using 1 finger to until you hear the option that you want: “like”, “comment” or “share.” If you don't hear these options, make sure your VoiceOver rotor is set to Actions. Rotate 2 fingers on your screen as if you're turning a dial to access the VoiceOver rotor. Keep turning until you get to Actions, and then lift your fingers to choose this option.
- Double tap the post using 1 finger to select the option.
Facebook for iOS (OS 7.0+) using VoiceOver
- From News Feed, swipe left or right (or tap) using 1 finger to move Voice Over focus to the desired post.
- Double tap the post using 1 finger to view the post.
- Swipe left or right using 1 finger to move focus to Like, Comment or Share.
- Double tap using 1 finger to select an option.
Facebook for iOS (OS 7.0 and earlier) using Voice Over
- From News Feed, swipe right or left (or tap) using 1 finger to move VoiceOver focus to the desired post.
- Double tap the post using 2 fingers to open the action menu.
- Swipe left or right using 1 finger to select one of the following options: Like, Comment or Share.
- Double tap an option using 1 finger to select it.
Facebook for Android (OS 6.0+) using TalkBack or Voice Assistant
- From News Feed, swipe right or left (or tap) using 1 finger to move the focus to the desired post's options: Like, Comment or Share.
- Double tap an option using 1 finger to select it.
To react to a post using a screen reader:
Facebook for computer (www.facebook.com)
- From News Feed, move your screen reader focus to the desired post's Like option.
- If this is your first time reacting to the post, you'll see Show More Reactions. Activate Show More Reactions to make the React toolbar appear, which contains a button for each reaction. If this isn't your first time reacting to the post, you won't have to activate anything to see the React toolbar.
- Press the tab key to enter the React toolbar, and use the left and right arrow keys to change reactions. Press the enter (return) key to select one.
Facebook for iOS (OS 8.0+) using VoiceOver rotor
- From News Feed, swipe right or left (or tap) using 1 finger to move VoiceOver focus to the desired post.
- Swipe up or down using 1 finger until you hear “react” (if the post doesn't have a reaction) or “change reaction” (if the post has an existing reaction). If you don't hear these options, make sure your VoiceOver rotor is set to Actions. Rotate 2 fingers on your screen as if you're turning a dial to access the VoiceOver rotor. Keep turning until you get to Actions, and then lift your fingers to choose this option.
- Double tap the post using 1 finger to open the reactions menu.
- Swipe left or right using 1 finger to change reactions.
- Double tap using 1 finger to select a reaction.
Facebook for iOS (OS 7.0+) using VoiceOver
- From News Feed, swipe left or right (or tap) using 1 finger to move Voice Over focus to the desired post.
- Double tap the post using 1 finger to view the post.
- Swipe left or right using 1 finger to move focus to Like.
- Double tap and hold using 1 finger to open the reactions menu.
- Swipe left or right using 1 finger to change reactions.
- Double tap using 1 finger to select a reaction.
Facebook for iOS (OS 7.0 and earlier) using Voice Over
- From News Feed, swipe right or left (or tap) using 1 finger to move VoiceOver focus to the desired post.
- Double tap the post using 2 fingers to open the action menu.
- Double tap React (if the post doesn't have a reaction) or Change Reaction (if the post has an existing reaction) to open the reaction menu.
- Swipe left or right using 1 finger to change reactions.
- Double tap using 1 finger to select a reaction.
Facebook for Android (OS 6.0+) using TalkBack or Voice Assistant
- From News Feed, swipe right or left (or tap) using 1 finger to move the focus to the desired post's Like option.
- Double tap and hold using 1 finger to open the reaction menu.
- Swipe left or right using 1 finger to change reactions.
- Double tap using 1 finger to select a reaction.
To get your iOS phone or tablet to read the contents of News Feed without using VoiceOver, turn on Speak Selection or Speak Screen:
To turn on Speak Selection or Speak Screen:
- Go to your home screen and tap Settings
- Tap General > Accessibility > Speech
- Tap to turn on Speak Selection or Speak Screen
To use Speak Selection, go to your News Feed, tap and hold a post using 1 finger, and then select Speak.
To use Speak Screen, go to your News Feed and swipe down using 2 fingers at the top of your screen.
Profile and Timeline
Profile Heading Structure
Your profile has headings so you can navigate its different sections using screen readers:
- Home is an h1 heading. This will take you out of the profile to your News Feed.
- Your name is an h2 heading. The information in your About section comes after this, followed by your posts.
- Friend requests, messages and notifications are h3 headings. These headings appear when you click one of the icons.
- The chat sidebar is an h4 heading.
- Posts on your Timeline have h5 headings.
- Ads have h6 headings.
Timeline ARIA Landmarks
ARIA document landmarks are used to represent important parts of Timeline. Besides the main, banner, search and content info landmarks, different navigational landmarks are marked on Timeline with appropriate labels. Stories on your Timeline are marked as complementary landmarks to enable easy navigation with screen readers.
Note: If you're navigating with a screen reader using headings, you'll likely hear similar headings repeated because of what appears on the screen. If you continue reading below the heading, you will hear the updates from different posts.