Redundant State Keyword in Accessibility Label

Accessible labels shouldn't bake in state words like "on" or "selected" that VoiceOver already announces from the control itself.

WCAG Reference

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 state that VoiceOver already announces from the control itself. Only state words that VoiceOver actually speaks for that control are flagged:

Condition	Flagged keywords
Control is marked selected	selected
Control is disabled	dimmed
Switch, toggle, or checkbox	on, off
Disclosure triangle	expanded

Matching is whole-word and case-insensitive. Deliberately not flagged, because VoiceOver does not use these words on iOS: disabled (VoiceOver says "dimmed"), enabled, unselected, collapsed, and checked / unchecked (VoiceOver says "on" / "off").

Why it matters

VoiceOver derives state from the control and appends it to every announcement. When the state is also written into the label, the user hears it twice: "Wi-Fi on, on, switch button". Worse, a hardcoded state does not update when the control changes. After the user toggles Wi-Fi off, VoiceOver announces "Wi-Fi on, off, switch button". The label now contradicts the real state, and the user has no way to tell which one is true. A label that lies about state is more harmful than no label at all.

Common failure patterns

• toggle labels that bake in the current value: "Dark mode off", "Notifications on"
• labels updated by hand in a state-change callback instead of relying on the control's own state
• selection state written into a segmented control's label

Remediation guidance

1. Remove the state word from the label string: "Notifications on" becomes "Notifications".
2. Keep the label static across state changes.
3. Drive state through the control's own API so the system announces it: set isOn on a switch, add or remove .selected from accessibilityTraits, or use accessibilityValue for values the traits cannot express.

Related docs

• iOS Rule Repository
• Accessibility Issue Remediation Guide