A11y: [Chats] Filter carousel operable only via swipe gestures....

[gaelledel]

Same issue as Android identified by external assessor:

• Checkpoint ID: 11.2.5.1/4.1
• Component: Chats

Issue Description

Filter carousel operable only via swipe gestures.

Recommendation

Provide single-pointer (clickable) arrows for carousel navigation.

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Report Date: 25.02.2026

[gaelledel]

Rather than adding anything on the UI, I would first check that any Assistive technology functions properly:

1/VoiceOver/TalkBack
Can we check we can reach all chips via native scroll-into-view behaviour — this might already close most of the gap.
i.e: Does swiping right with one finger (the standard screen-reader navigation gesture, distinct from a normal two-finger-free swipe) move focus through each filter chip one at a time?

2/ External hardware
Fix/verify switch-control and keyboard tab order includes off-screen chips.

3/ Voice control: can a user say "tap People" and have it work, even if "People" isn't currently visible?

Then when these checks are done I can go back to the assessor.

4/ For further consideration:
It may be possible to display an alternate control when apps detect that an assistive tech is Active (reduced motion, VoiceOver running, switch control on).
This would need mobile engineers to research @Velin92
This way the default gesture-first experience stays untouched for most users, and we can think of an alternative visual affordance for the users who need it (not necessarily the arrow system above). If we see it is possible, I can do more design research on how to do it.

[Velin92]

yeah it's definitely possible to have a different control for when voice over is on, we already use tap and swipe action to do menus in voice over, or multiple actions that require some guidance. However I think the issue described here is not for voice over specifically or reduced motion, but for people who have motor impairments which make a swipe in a such small area hard to pull off, in fact in voice over mode is already possible to scroll and highlight each single filter item one at a time with a single small swipe (not a drag).