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Kanopy Report

    Creator: National Network for Equitable Library Service

    Date Updated: March 26, 2024

    Overview

    The Accessibility Report for Kanopy, from the National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS) with support from the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program, examines the video streaming platform’s usability for individuals with print disabilities. Focused on the mobile application and website, the report assesses Kanopy’s compatibility with screen reader and magnification software across various devices and operating systems. This comprehensive analysis aims to highlight the barriers faced by users with print disabilities and recommend improvements to make Kanopy more accessible and inclusive.

    The information on this page is summarized from the Kanopy Testing Report.

    Quick Facts

    Kanopy’s website and mobile app has been tested with screen readers and screen magnification tools on various platforms. The conclusion based on the time of testing is that it lacks built-in accessibility features in both the app and web platform and contains major accessibility barriers. This includes:

    • Poor heading structure
    • Unlabelled or improperly labelled buttons
    • Controls that do not announce their state (expanded or collapsed) or cannot be accessed
    • And much more!

    This results in significant barriers for screen reader users on both mobile and desktop. The visual adjustments available for persons with low vision depend on the operating system and the browser’s magnification they use, meaning that the experience can vary from person to person.

    The Kanopy Apple TV app’s core functionality–such as browsing and playing videos–is difficult, and searching is essentially impossible.

    Overall, these issues resulted in a poor user experience for the testers.

    To read the full report, go to the Kanopy Testing Report on AccessiblePublishing.ca.

    References

    NNELS. (2023). Accessibility Report for Kanopy . AccessiblePublishing.ca. https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/accessibility-report-for-kanopy/