September 2025

Add an Accessibility Nutrition Label

Apple is about to drop Accessibility Nutrition labels on the App Store, offering users transparency about which accessibility features apps support. I’ve just completed an audit for one of these labels. Here’s what I learned.

Accessibility nutrition? Wut?

It’s exactly what it sounds like, minus the calories. A label that shows up on your app’s product page telling people which accessibility features it supports.

If someone needs VoiceOver to navigate, Larger Text to read, or prefers Dark Mode, they will be able to determine if your app works for them before downloading.

The labels start as voluntary, but will eventually become mandatory for new apps and updates. Translation: get ahead of this.

How the label appears on the App Store, showing supported accessibility features: A screenshot from the Apple App Store showing an Accessibility Nutrition Label

This is a helpful initiative that should push teams to consider the needs of their disabled and older users. My only gripe? They called it a Nutrition Label. Google “Apple Nutrition Label” and you’ll get a wall of apple nutrition facts. Plain language matters. I also think it would be helpful to show users the features an app doesn’t support.

How to audit your app

1. Watch Apple’s explainer video

This video steps you through the audit process using a made-up app. The whole process is self-assessed and relies on the auditor to be honest about results.

The key takeaway: you can’t claim support unless you fully support a feature. Like, if only part of your app responds to Larger Text settings, you can’t claim to support Larger Text. I sincerely hope companies don’t overstate their support, because the point of these labels is helping users with access needs.

Don’t be that company.

2. Map out your core user journeys

Step into your user’s shoes. What are the main tasks they undertake on your app? Identify these core user journeys. For the e-commerce app I audited, I focused on these critical flows:

3. Break each journey into steps

Take checkout for example. To check out an order in your app, users might need to:

4. Test each step with accessibility features enabled

Apple’s developer docs outlines a list of accessibility features you need to test your journeys against. Check the evaluation criteria to establish if you pass. The audit needs to be done by someone with experience of accessibility testing who is familiar with assistive settings and most importantly with user needs.

Here are the accessibility features you need to test. You can enable these on your device in Settings > Accessibility:

You also need to check for:

I struggled to find the right tool to record this exercise. Apple’s docs suggest you create a matrix. I started in a spreadsheet, but I wanted to paste in screen shots and videos to flag issues as I progressed. I ended up setting up a table in a Miro board that allowed a selection of pass, fail, pass with issues and N/A like this:

Miro board showing a matrix to mark off accessibility settings

This allowed me to check off criteria as I tested and paste in screens that had areas for improvement.

Miro board showing a series of screens from an app audit

What this process taught me

If you haven’t done an end-to-end accessibility assessment of your app, this provides an excellent opportunity. Components and features are regularly developed in isolation and this systematic approach exposes gaps.

I regularly test with VoiceOver, but I’d never put Voice Control through a complete user journey. This assessment uncovered a couple of Voice Control bugs you would never notice in isolation. From an empathy perspective, there were a few areas that worked functionally and weren’t technical fails, but could be improved. The app I assessed doesn’t feature video or audio so I omitted these assessments.

Adding the label to the App Store

This part is straightforward. Log into your developer account, find the accessibility section, check off what you support, and add a link to your accessibility statement. There is a guide that steps you through the process of adding a label.

Don’t have an accessibility statement? Write one. They are now required by law in some European markets. Read my guide on how to write an accessibility statement if you need a template.

Tips for your own audit

This audit process goes beyond adding a label to your App Store page: it’s a comprehensive review that could uncover accessibility issues that you weren’t aware of. You’ll likely discover features that work in isolation but break down during real user journeys. These insights don’t just help you check compliance boxes. They guide you toward building experiences that genuinely work for everyone, making your app better for all users in the process.

Have thoughts? Wave at me on BlueSky 👋