Using Mobility Mapper with a Screen Reader

A guide for people who use VoiceOver (iPhone) or TalkBack (Android) to use the Mobility Mapper app. If you help someone who uses a screen reader, this guide works for you too.

Mobility Mapper lets you record the journeys you make in your wheelchair, mobility scooter, or other wheeled mobility device, and flag barriers like missing dropped kerbs — helping build a map of routes that are wheelable for everyone. This guide explains how to do all of that by listening and using touch gestures.

The gestures you’ll use

Everything in the app can be done with four gestures. They are the same on iPhone and Android:

To do this Gesture
Move to the next thing and hear it Swipe right with one finger
Move back to the previous thing Swipe left with one finger
Choose/press the thing you’re on Double-tap anywhere
Scroll through a list or page Swipe up or down with two fingers

When the screen reader reads something, a box is drawn around it. That is the item you’ll press if you double-tap.

Tip: you can also slide one finger slowly around the screen to hear what is where.

Turning your screen reader on

  • iPhone (VoiceOver): Settings → Accessibility → VoiceOver. Tip: set the Accessibility Shortcut to VoiceOver so a triple-click of the side button turns it on and off.
  • Android (TalkBack): Settings → Accessibility → TalkBack. Tip: turn on the TalkBack shortcut so holding both volume keys turns it on and off.

1. Signing in or creating an account

  1. Open Mobility Mapper.
  2. Swipe right through the screen to hear each field. Double-tap the Email field and type your email, then the Password field and type your password.
  3. To see your password as you type, find the “Show password” button next to the password field and double-tap it. Double-tap again to hide it.
  4. Find and double-tap Log in. If anything is wrong (for example a mistyped password), you’ll hear the reason spoken aloud.

If you are creating a new account, you’ll also reach a screen where you must accept the terms:

  • Find “I accept” and double-tap it to tick it. You can open the full terms from the “View full terms” link.
  • If you try to continue without ticking it, you’ll hear “You must accept the terms to create an account.”

2. Finding your way around

Along the bottom of the screen are four tabs. Swipe to each to hear it:

  • Home — news and a list of unconfirmed barriers near you.
  • Record a journey — start recording a trip.
  • You, your profile — your journeys, reported barriers, and account.
  • Messages — updates from the Mobility Mapper team. If you have unread messages, this tab tells you how many, for example “Messages, 3 unread.”

Double-tap a tab to open it.

3. Recording a journey

This is the heart of the app: recording where you travel so it can be added to the wheelable map.

  1. Double-tap the Record a journey tab.
  2. Choose the mobility device you’re using, if asked.
  3. Find and double-tap Start (or the start button). You’ll hear “Recording started.”
  4. Put your phone away and make your journey as normal. The app records your route in the background.

While recording, you can:

  • Pause — hold the pause button; you’ll hear “Journey paused.”
  • Resume — double-tap resume; you’ll hear “Recording resumed.”
  • Finish — double-tap Finish; you’ll hear “Journey saved.”

If a journey can’t be saved (for example no location was recorded), the app tells you why out loud instead of failing silently.

4. Knowing what barriers are around you

The app shows barriers on a map. Because a map is visual, Mobility Mapper gives you the same information by voice and in a list while you record.

Hearing barriers as you approach them

If the “Announce nearby barriers” setting is on (it is on by default), the app speaks a barrier when you come within about 30 metres, for example:

“Barrier 25 metres north-east: dropped kerb.”

Each barrier is announced once, so it won’t keep repeating.

Browsing the barriers near you

  1. While recording, swipe near the top of the screen to find the “barriers nearby” button — it tells you how many, for example “3 barriers nearby.”
  2. Double-tap it to open the list.
  3. Swipe through the list. Each barrier reads its type, distance, and direction, for example “Dropped kerb. 45 metres north-east.”
  4. Double-tap any barrier to hear its full details.
  5. Find “Close nearby barriers list” and double-tap to go back.

Turning the spoken announcements on or off

Go to You → Settings → Preferences → Announce nearby barriers and choose On or Off. Turning it off stops the spoken alerts but keeps the barriers list available.

5. Reporting a barrier

If you come across a barrier — a missing dropped kerb, a blocked pavement, steps with no ramp — you can report it so others know.

  1. While recording a journey, find and double-tap Report barrier.
  2. Normally you’d place the barrier by dragging a map, which needs sight — so when your screen reader is on, the app instead uses your current location as the barrier’s position. You’ll hear “Barrier location set to your current position.” Just report the barrier while you’re beside it and it will be pinned to where you are.
  3. Follow the prompts to choose the barrier type and severity, and add a description.
  4. You can add a photo if you wish — this step is optional.
  5. Submit the report. It’s added to the map for other people to see.

6. Looking back at your journeys

  1. Double-tap the You, your profile tab.
  2. Find your list of journeys and swipe through them.
  3. Double-tap a journey to hear its details — distance, how long it took, the date, and the device you used. On the journey’s map, the start and end points are labelled “Journey start” and “Journey end.”

7. Managing your devices, privacy, and account

From You → Settings you can reach:

  • Privacy zones — hide areas such as your home so they’re removed from your recorded routes (see below).
  • Distance units — choose miles or kilometres.
  • Announce nearby barriers — turn the spoken barrier alerts on or off.
  • Notifications, your devices, and account options.

Swipe through each and double-tap to open.

Creating a privacy zone

A privacy zone hides an area — such as your home — so it’s removed from your recorded routes.

  1. Go to You → Settings → Privacy zones and double-tap Add privacy zone.
  2. Type a name for the zone, for example “Home”.
  3. Choosing the exact spot on a map needs sight, so instead double-tap Use my current location to centre the zone where you are now. You’ll hear “Privacy zone centred on your current location.” Set the zone up while you’re at the place you want to protect.
  4. Find the zone radius slider and swipe up or down to choose how large the area is — you’ll hear the size in metres as you change it.
  5. Double-tap Save.

Getting help

If something isn’t clear, or a part of the app is hard to use with your screen reader, we want to know — it helps us make the app better for everyone. Contact us at support@mobilitymapper.co.uk.

Thank you for helping build a wheelable network.