Hello Telegram Team,
I am writing to report a critical accessibility regression affecting TalkBack users on the Android version of your application.
In previous versions of the app, it was possible to navigate to and activate the primary action buttons on a contact's profile page (such as "Open Chat", "Call", and "Video Call") using the TalkBack screen reader.
However, following a recent update, these essential buttons are no longer focusable. When navigating the profile screen with standard TalkBack gestures (swiping right to move to the next element), the focus completely skips over these buttons. This makes it impossible for visually impaired users on Android to initiate a conversation or a call directly from a user's profile, which is a fundamental function of the app.
This issue severely hinders the usability of Telegram for the visually impaired community on Android and breaks a previously working core feature.
Steps to reproduce
Enable the TalkBack screen reader on an Android device.
Open the Telegram application.
Navigate to any contact's profile page.
Attempt to navigate through all the on-screen elements by swiping right.
Confirming this regression. I’m 100% blind and I can reproduce the same problem with both Google TalkBack and Jieshuo on Android. On a contact’s profile, the primary action buttons (Open Chat, Call, Video Call) are no longer focusable; the screen reader focus just skips them. This used to work and now it’s broken. This is not a minor annoyance. It blocks a core workflow—starting a chat or a call—from the profile screen. Shipping updates that repeatedly break basic accessibility is unacceptable and shows a disregard for blind users. With each new update, accessibility seems to get worse, not better, and it honestly feels like these scenarios aren’t being tested at all. Especially for blind Premium subscribers who pay for Telegram, this is unfair. We’re paying customers and we do not deserve to deal with regressions that make essential parts of the app unusable. Please stop shipping accessibility regressions, restore proper focusable controls with correct labels and actions, and take accessibility QA seriously. Until this is fixed, the profile screen is effectively unusable for us.
Z
Zahir
Confirming this issue. I am completely blind and can reproduce the same problem on multiple screen readers: Prudence Screen Reader, Google TalkBack, Jieshuo Screen Reader, and Samsung TalkBack on Android devices. After the latest updates, the primary action buttons on a contact’s profile—Open Chat, Call, Video Call—are no longer focusable by screen readers. This is not a minor inconvenience; it blocks essential workflows and makes the profile screen effectively unusable for blind users. We strongly urge Telegram to address these accessibility regressions. Restoring proper focusable controls with correct labels and actions is crucial, and we hope the upcoming updates prioritize accessibility and test these scenarios thoroughly.
Z
Zahir
Confirming this issue. The previous comment is correct: the last two updates have started breaking the app’s accessibility. We respectfully urge the developers to fix this issue promptly and to prioritize accessibility in future updates.
K
KirKur 🇧🇾
Confirming this issue. I am completely blind and can reproduce the same problem on multiple screen readers: Prudence Screen Reader, Google TalkBack, Jieshuo Screen Reader, and Samsung TalkBack on Android devices. After the latest updates, the primary action buttons on a contact’s profile—Open Chat, Call, Video Call—are no longer focusable by screen readers. This is not a minor inconvenience; it blocks essential workflows and makes the profile screen effectively unusable for blind users. We strongly urge Telegram to address these accessibility regressions. Restoring proper focusable controls with correct labels and actions is crucial, and we hope the upcoming updates prioritize accessibility and test these scenarios thoroughly.
n
neyman
Confirming this issue. I am completely blind and can reproduce the same problem on multiple screen readers: Prudence Screen Reader, Google TalkBack, Jieshuo Screen Reader, and Samsung TalkBack on Android devices. After the latest updates, the primary action buttons on a contact’s profile—Open Chat, Call, Video Call—are no longer focusable by screen readers. This is not a minor inconvenience; it blocks essential workflows and makes the profile screen effectively unusable for blind users. We strongly urge Telegram to address these accessibility regressions. Restoring proper focusable controls with correct labels and actions is crucial, and we hope the upcoming updates prioritize accessibility and test these scenarios thoroughly.
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This is not a minor annoyance. It blocks a core workflow—starting a chat or a call—from the profile screen. Shipping updates that repeatedly break basic accessibility is unacceptable and shows a disregard for blind users. With each new update, accessibility seems to get worse, not better, and it honestly feels like these scenarios aren’t being tested at all.
Especially for blind Premium subscribers who pay for Telegram, this is unfair. We’re paying customers and we do not deserve to deal with regressions that make essential parts of the app unusable. Please stop shipping accessibility regressions, restore proper focusable controls with correct labels and actions, and take accessibility QA seriously. Until this is fixed, the profile screen is effectively unusable for us.
We strongly urge Telegram to address these accessibility regressions. Restoring proper focusable controls with correct labels and actions is crucial, and we hope the upcoming updates prioritize accessibility and test these scenarios thoroughly.
We strongly urge Telegram to address these accessibility regressions. Restoring proper focusable controls with correct labels and actions is crucial, and we hope the upcoming updates prioritize accessibility and test these scenarios thoroughly.
We strongly urge Telegram to address these accessibility regressions. Restoring proper focusable controls with correct labels and actions is crucial, and we hope the upcoming updates prioritize accessibility and test these scenarios thoroughly.