Top 10 Critical Flutter Web Accessibility Issues: Production Ready or Not?

Flutter web applications face significant accessibility challenges that developers must address before production deployment. This article explores the top Flutter web accessibility issues reported on GitHub as of March 2025, providing essential insights for teams committed to building inclusive web applications.

Why Accessibility Matters for Flutter Web Projects

Before diving into specific Flutter web accessibility issues, it’s important to understand why accessibility should be a priority:

• Legal requirements: Many countries require web applications to meet accessibility standards
• Broader user base: Accessible applications reach more users, including those with disabilities
• Better SEO: Accessible web content typically ranks better in search engines
• Enhanced user experience: Accessibility improvements benefit all users, not just those with disabilities

Top 10 Flutter Web Accessibility Issues

1. No Support for Two-Finger Pinch Zoom Gesture

Issue #97305 (Comments: 23, Reactions: 23)

This long-standing issue from January 2022 prevents users from zooming web content using the standard two-finger pinch gesture. Flutter overrides the viewport meta tag with:

<meta flt-viewport="" name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no">

This prevents applications from passing accessibility checkers as it limits users who rely on zoom functionality. Despite being open for over two years with significant community engagement, this issue remains unresolved.

Impact: Users with visual impairments cannot use standard zoom functionality, creating a significant barrier to access.

2. Language Not Set for Screen Readers

Issue #98948 (Comments: 25, Reactions: 1)

When using Flutter for web, the application doesn’t properly set the language attributes for screen readers. This means:

• Screen readers use the system language instead of the application’s language
• Content in different languages isn’t correctly announced
• The lang attribute is not properly set in the HTML DOM

The issue has been open since February 2022, highlighting a persistent gap in Flutter’s web accessibility support.

3. TextField Input Issues with iOS Safari

Issue #151325 (Comments: 16)

A critical issue for form functionality, this problem makes it impossible to write to TextFields on iOS Safari browsers due to the lack of proper input tags. The issue significantly impacts automation testing with tools like Appium and creates barriers for iOS users. Your QA team might not welcome these type of Flutter web accessibility issues.

Workaround: While this issue remains open, developers may need to consider alternative input approaches or platform-specific implementations for iOS users.

4. Autofill Not Working with Semantics Enabled

Issue #137148 (Comments: 11, Reactions: 1)

This issue demonstrates a conflict between accessibility features and common user convenience features:

• Autofill works normally without semantics enabled
• When semantics are enabled (RendererBinding.instance.setSemanticsEnabled(true)), autofill functionality breaks
• No key icon appears in URL fields and autofill popups don’t appear after page reload

This creates a difficult choice for developers: improve accessibility or maintain autofill functionality.

5. Accessibility Finder Issues with Nested Navigator

Issue #150978 (Comments: 10)

When using a Nested Navigator in Flutter web applications, widgets placed before the Navigator become invisible in the accessibility tree. This creates navigation gaps for screen reader users and breaks the logical flow of content.

Technical Impact: This issue breaks the semantic structure of applications, creating confusing experiences for screen reader users who cannot access content in a logical sequence.

6. VoiceOver Not Working for Flutter Websites and macOS Apps

Issue #115158 (Comments: 8, Reactions: 2)

This issue highlights problems with macOS VoiceOver support in both Flutter websites and macOS applications:

• VoiceOver doesn’t properly interact with Flutter-created content
• Tab navigation doesn’t work as expected
• The issue affects both web and desktop platforms

Despite being demonstrated with a video and clear reproduction steps, this issue from November 2022 remains unresolved.

7. Package Migration for JS Interop

Pull Request #164254 (Comments: 8, Reactions: 1)

While this is a pull request rather than an issue, it represents an important migration from package:js to dart:js_interop for JavaScript interoperability. This change could potentially impact accessibility implementations that rely on JavaScript interop for custom accessibility solutions.

Developer Note: Keep an eye on this migration if your accessibility implementation uses custom JavaScript bridges.

8. Incorrect Accessibility Semantics on Table Widget

Issue #100056 (Comments: 8, Reactions: 1)

Tables are essential for presenting structured data, but Flutter’s Table widget doesn’t generate proper accessibility information:

• Screen readers cannot navigate tables with standard commands
• NVDA (a popular screen reader) doesn’t recognize Flutter tables as tables
• This creates a significant barrier for users who rely on screen readers to interpret tabular data

This issue has been open since March 2022, representing a significant gap in Flutter’s semantic support for common data structures.

9. Screen Reader Rectangle Doesn’t Update After Scrolling

Issue #157718 (Comments: 7)

When using a screen reader with Flutter web applications, the screen reader’s focus rectangle doesn’t update properly after scrolling:

• The visual indicator of focus remains in the original position
• This creates a disconnect between what’s being read and what’s visually indicated
• Users may become disoriented when the focus indicator doesn’t match the actual content position

10. Rich Text Semantics Issues

Issue #129033 (Comments: 7)

Flutter’s RichText and Text.rich widgets don’t correctly emit semantics for children that generate their own SemanticsNode:

• Rich text attempts to emit a single label, skipping interleaved standalone widgets
• Screen readers hear incomplete content
• The semantic tree structure doesn’t match the visual rendering order

This creates particular problems for complex text that includes interactive elements or specialized content like mathematical expressions.

Is Flutter Web Ready for Production From an Accessibility Standpoint?

Based on these top Flutter web accessibility issues, here are some considerations before taking your Flutter web application to production:

If you are interested in checking the major issues in Flutter web other than accessibility, do check out this detailed post for the same: Picking Flutter Web in 2025?- 8 Make-or-Break Issues

Concerning Trends

• Long-standing issues: Many critical accessibility issues have remained open for years
• Basic functionality gaps: Core features like zooming, screen reader support, and form inputs have significant limitations
• Cross-platform consistency: Issues affect multiple platforms and browsers, making comprehensive testing essential

Conclusion

Flutter’s promise of cross-platform development with a single codebase is compelling, but web accessibility remains an area with significant challenges. Many of the issues highlighted have remained open for years despite community interest, suggesting that teams with strict accessibility requirements should carefully evaluate Flutter for web production use.

Have you encountered other Flutter web accessibility issues? Share your experiences in the comments below!