Customize Accessibility Settings For Specific Apps

I have several accessibility features enabled on my Android phone and iPad that help me access information with low vision effectively, but there are times where these settings don’t work as expected with specific applications. Instead of turning off the accessibility setting entirely, I find it helpful to customize accessibility settings for individual apps or quickly customize accessibility settings for specific apps that I can turn on/off without having to go to the Settings menu. Here is how to customize accessibility settings for specific apps on iPad/iOS devices and Android devices to improve display and performance for visual accessibility settings, with a focus on large print and display scaling.

Customize accessibility settings for specific apps on iPad/iOS

Per-App Settings

Starting in iOS 15, users can customize accessibility settings for individual apps in the Per-App Settings menu, located in the Settings app. This can be accessed by opening Settings > Accessibility > Per-App Settings, which is located in the General sub-section of the Accessibility menu. These accessibility settings will be enabled automatically when the user opens the application. If no settings are configured, the accessibility settings that are currently enabled on the device will be displayed by default.

iPadOS and iOS currently offer the following options for customizing per-app accessibility settings:

Bold Text
Larger Text (font size)
Button Shapes
On/Off Labels
Reduce Transparency
Increase Contrast
Differentiate Without Color
Prefer Horizontal Text
Smart Invert
Reduce Motion
Prefer Cross-Fade Transitions
Auto-Play Animated Images
Auto-Play Video Previews
Prefer Non-Blinking Cursor

Per-App Settings automatically displays several applications in the App Customization menu, and users can configure settings for additional applications by selecting Add App. Alternatively, users can also configure the default settings for the Home Screen & App Library using this menu.

Control Center

Control Center provides quick access to device features and accessibility settings and can be opened within any application by swiping down from the top right corner of the device screen. Users can customize the display of Control Center by opening the Settings app and selecting the Control Center menu. From there, users can add, remove, or customize which settings they would like to display. In iOS 18, some accessibility settings are now available as options in the default Control Center menu, which has eight rounded icons at the bottom of the menu.

The default Control Center menu offers the following accessibility settings:

Accessibility Shortcuts (listed as plural, see next section)
Classic Invert (iOS 18)
Color Filters (iOS 18)
Dark Mode
Dim Flashing Lights (iOS 18)
Guided Access
Hearing
Hover Text (iOS 18)
Hover Typing (iOS 18)
Increase Contrast (iOS 18)
Live Recognition (iOS 18)
Magnifier
Music Recognition
Reduce Motion (iOS 18)
Reduce Transparency (iOS 18)
Reduce White Point (iOS 18)
Smart Invert (iOS 18)
Speak Screen (iOS 18)
Sound Recognition
Text Size (customizable for individual apps with a slider)
Vehicle Motion (iOS 18)
VoiceOver (iOS 18)
Zoom (iOS 18)

While some settings can be customized for individual applications, most settings will remain on until the user turns them off again.

Accessibility Shortcut

Accessibility Shortcut provides additional accessibility settings that can be turned on/off using either the Control Center or by triple-clicking a button shortcut (either the top button, side button, or home button depending on the device model). These accessibility settings will remain on until the user turns them off, and they will not be turned on/off automatically when opening an application. To customize the features available in the Accessibility Shortcut menu, open Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut, which is located in the General sub-section of the Accessibility section, and then select or drag to rearrange the features the user would want visible in this menu.

iPadOS and iOS currently offer the following options for the Accessibility Shortcut:

Assistive Access
Background Sounds
AssistiveTouch
Classic Invert
Color Filters
Dim Flashing Lights
Eye Tracking
Full Keyboard Access
Guided Access
Hover Text
Hover Typing
Increase Contrast
Left/Right Balance
Live Captions
Live Recognition
Live Speech
Magnifier
Reduce Motion
Reduce Transparency
Reduce White Point
Smart Invert
Speak Screen
Switch Control
Vehicle Motion Controls
Voice Control
VoiceOver
Zoom

If more than one accessibility feature is added, each feature will be displayed in a list when the Accessibility Shortcut is activated, so the user can choose the feature they want to access.

Siri

Another option for quickly turning accessibility features on or off while connected to internet/cellular data is to use Siri. For example, if I wanted to turn on VoiceOver, I could say “Hey Siri, VoiceOver on” and VoiceOver would automatically turn on with the settings I had previously configured in the Accessibility menu. Alternatively, if users would prefer to type when talking to Siri, this can also be configured in Settings > Accessibility > Siri, which is located in the General sub-section of the Accessibility menu by turning on Type to Siri. Siri can also be configured to respond silently instead of speaking out loud in this menu as well.

Customize accessibility settings for specific apps on Android

Android does not offer per-app accessibility settings, but does provide users with several options for quickly accessing accessibility features without navigating away from their current application.

Quick Settings

Quick Settings provides quick access to device settings and accessibility features and can be opened within any application by swiping down from the top of the device screen. Users can further customize the tiles visible in Quick Settings by swiping down from the center of the screen and selecting the Edit (pencil icon) button in the bottom right corner of the screen and holding/dragging tiles to rearrange them. Quick Access does not enable accessibility settings automatically when opening specific applications, and settings will remain on until the user turns them off.

Android currently offers the following accessibility settings for Quick Access:

Cast Screen
Dark Theme
Font Size (displayed as slider)
Color Inversion
Color Correction
Live Caption
Live Transcribe
Sound Amplifier
Reading Mode

Accessibility button

Android’s Accessibility button is used to quickly access accessibility features on the device, and may be located either on the Navigation bar or floating over other apps, depending on which setting the user has enabled. The Accessibility button can be customized by opening Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcuts, which is located under the General sub-section of the Accessibility page.

To add accessibility features to the accessibility shortcut, open the desired accessibility feature in Settings and turn on Shortcut, followed by Tap accessibility button. Alternatively, users can choose to press and hold down volume keys to open/activate a specific feature. Users can enable more than one accessibility feature to be used with the Accessibility button, and can choose a feature to use by long-pressing on the accessibility button and choosing which tool they would like to use, or enable a specific feature to open by default.

Android currently offers the following options for the Accessibility button:

Shortcuts for downloaded apps (e.g. Reading Mode)
TalkBack
Color Correction
Color Inversion
Extra Dim
Magnification
Select-to-speak
Accessibility Menu (see next section)
Switch Access
Live Transcribe
Sound Amplifier
Sound Notifications

Big Font

I use the Big Font app on my Android phone to increase the global (device) font size larger than the Android default font size, but sometimes text doesn’t display as expected or runs off the edge of the screen. One way to easily adjust the font size with Big Font is to open the Big Font settings menu and turn on the Notification icon, which will provide users with the option to adjust the font size by swiping down from the top of their screen and adjusting the Big Font slider to the preferred font size.

Accessibility Menu

Accessibility Menu is another Android feature that provides users with a large on-screen menu of features that can be used to control an Android device. Each button is high contrast and features colorful labels that can assist users with accessing specific device functions. Users can enable the Accessibility Menu shortcut in Settings but cannot rearrange or change how icons are displayed.

The Accessibility Menu offers the following features:

Google Assistant
Accessibility settings (opens Settings app)
Device power
Volume down/Volume up
Recent apps
Brightness down/Brightness Up
Lock screen
Quick Settings
Notifications
Screenshot

Other options to customize accessibility settings for specific apps

Some applications have their own accessibility and/or settings menus that offer customization for display features such as large print, color themes, and auto-play settings. I always make sure to disable auto-play in individual apps to minimize the potential for surprise flashing lights, which I talk about more in Avoiding Flashing Lights On Social Media
Another option is to enable dark mode or light mode for specific applications, which can be done in the individual application’s settings menu. Learn more about these features in Choosing Between Light Mode and Dark Mode For Low Vision
Want to customize accessibility settings for an eReading application or web content? Check out Mainstream eReader Apps and Low Vision Accessibility and A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text

Published August 30, 2024. Updated January 2025

Reference

Lewis, Veronica. (2024). Customize Accessibility Settings For Specific Apps. Veroniiiica. https://veroniiiica.com/accessibility-settings-specific-apps/ (Accessed on December 20, 2025)