Redundant Role Keyword in Accessibility Label
Accessible labels shouldn't repeat a control's role — words like "button" or "link" — since VoiceOver already announces the role separately.
Maps to: WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value | Applies to: WCAG 2.0, WCAG 2.1, WCAG 2.2 Introduced in: WCAG 2.0 | Level: A | Read the official specification →
What this rule checks
The scanner examines whether a visible accessibility element's label embeds the control's own role. The role words checked are drawn from the control's actual type and role, so a role word is flagged only when it matches the real control — "Play button" on a piece of static text is not reported by this rule.
| Control | Flagged keywords |
|---|---|
| Button, Toolbar button, Menu button, Pop-up button | button |
| Switch, Toggle | switch |
| Link | link |
| Image, Icon | image |
| Text field, Secure text field, Text view | text field, textfield |
| Search field | search field, searchfield |
| Slider | adjustable |
| Stepper | stepper |
Matching is whole-word and case-insensitive, with boundary checks, so "Unbutton" and "Onboarding" do not match. Deliberately not flagged: slider, toggle, icon, tab, picker, menu, progress, since VoiceOver does not announce those words as roles on iOS.
Why it matters
VoiceOver appends the role to every announcement. A button labelled "Submit button" is announced as "Submit button, button", so the user hears the role twice, on every focus, forever. Across a screen this doubles the verbosity of navigation without adding any information, and it makes labels harder to distinguish from one another because the discriminating word is buried behind boilerplate.
Common failure patterns
- labels that name the widget rather than the action: "Settings icon", "Search button"
- labels written by copying the design-system component name
- headers labelled "Section heading: Orders" where the header role is already set
Remediation guidance
- Identify the role noun in the label: "button", "link", "image", "heading".
- Remove it: "Settings icon" becomes "Settings".
- Assign the role programmatically instead (
accessibilityTraits = .button, or.accessibilityAddTraits(.isButton)in SwiftUI) so VoiceOver supplies it.
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