DumbTask — Accessibility
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DumbTask is a plain-text task list. That simplicity is part of our accessibility strategy: there is very little to get in the way. No gestures, no drag-and-drop, no hidden menus. Every action has a visible, tappable control.
This page describes what we've built, what we're still working on, and how to tell us what we've missed.
This page describes what we've built, what we're still working on, and how to tell us what we've missed.
VoiceOver
Every interactive element in DumbTask has a label. VoiceOver users can:
- Hear each task read as a single element, including any symbol labels (e.g. "Project launch preparation, priority, project")
- Complete a task with a custom accessibility action — no need to locate a small checkbox
- Navigate the week calendar day-by-day, with each cell announcing the full date, whether it's today, and how many tasks were completed
- Use all toolbar buttons (undo, reorder, settings, add task) with descriptive labels and hints
- Navigate week-by-week with clearly labeled Previous/Next buttons
Color contrast
Every theme in DumbTask is built to meet or exceed WCAG AA contrast standards:
- Primary text meets a minimum 7:1 contrast ratio against the background across all themes — well above the AA requirement of 4.5:1
- Secondary text, checkboxes, and interactive elements all meet a minimum 4.5:1 ratio against both the background and surface colors
- Contrast ratios are documented in the source code and checked whenever colors change
The seven available themes cover a range of visual preferences while maintaining these standards:
| Theme | Background | Text contrast |
|---|---|---|
| Dark | Near-black | 13.3:1 |
| Grey | Dark grey | 9.3:1 |
| White | Off-white | 16.0:1 |
| Legal Pad | Warm yellow | High (pencil on paper) |
| Terminal (Green) | Near-black | 14.6:1 |
| Terminal (Orange) | Near-black | 8.4:1 |
| Terminal (Amber) | Near-black | 10.6:1 |
Text size and Dynamic Type
DumbTask responds to the system Dynamic Type setting. If you increase your device's text size in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Larger Text, DumbTask scales up accordingly. The in-app size slider (12pt–28pt) sets the baseline, and the system setting scales from there — so users who need accessibility text sizes get proportionally larger text throughout the app.
Every piece of text — tasks, checkboxes, calendar dates, symbols, placeholders — scales with both controls.
Touch targets
All interactive elements meet or exceed the 44x44 point minimum recommended by Apple's Human Interface Guidelines. This includes:
- Task checkboxes
- Symbol buttons
- Toolbar buttons (undo, reorder, settings)
- Week navigation arrows
- The add-task button
- Search field clear button
Motor accessibility
DumbTask minimizes reliance on fine motor control:
- No required gestures. Swipe-to-indent and swipe-to-outdent are available but never required — indentation can also be managed through the reorder mode
- No drag-and-drop. Task reordering uses the standard iOS edit mode with grab handles
- Large hit areas. Controls are generously sized with ample spacing
- Keyboard support. On iPad with a hardware keyboard, Cmd+Enter submits a task
Cognitive accessibility
DumbTask is deliberately minimal:
- No onboarding. The app opens to an empty list. Type a task, tap the button
- No modes to track. There are no boards, views, filters, or contexts to switch between
- No time pressure. Nothing expires, nothing streaks, nothing gamifies your productivity
- Plain text. Tasks are stored as a readable text file — the format is the interface
- Optional complexity. Symbols (priority, project, context, etc.) are available if useful and completely ignorable if not
Increase Contrast
When Increase Contrast is enabled in system settings, DumbTask responds by:
- Increasing border widths and opacity on all interactive elements
- Boosting the visibility of dimmed/disabled elements
- Thickening divider lines
This works across all seven themes.
Button Shapes
When Button Shapes is enabled in system settings, DumbTask adds visible underlines to interactive text elements (checkboxes, symbol buttons) and solidifies the dashed border on the add-symbol button, making tappable areas visually distinct from static text.
Reduce Motion
DumbTask has minimal animation by design. The one animated transition (toggling reorder mode) respects the Reduce Motion system setting — when enabled, the state change happens instantly with no animation.
What's not yet built
We're honest about gaps. DumbTask does not currently:
- Support Bold Text system preference
- Include haptic feedback for task completion (only for specific long-press actions)
- Support Switch Control custom actions beyond what VoiceOver provides
Feedback
If something in DumbTask doesn't work for you — with a screen reader, with a switch, with your hands, with your eyes — that's a bug. Reach out at dumbtaskapp@gmail.com so we can get it fixed.