5 Android Accessibility Features You Probably Haven't Tried (But Should)

Your Android phone offers many customization options right out of the box that let you transform the handset into a unique computing device that fits your particular needs. But you shouldn't ignore the Accessibility menu in the phone's Settings app, as it holds additional features you may ignore, thinking they're designed only for people with specific impairments. Google develops these features so users with vision, hearing, speech, and motor impairments can use smartphones as easily as possible. But many features in the Accessibility menu can and should be enabled by Android users who don't have any impairments, as they can improve the overall smartphone experience.

Below, we've selected a few Accessibility features you may not have tried on your Android device, as well as additional features that go hand in hand with them. The Accessibility features should be available on most Android devices, including tablets. Some vendors may place them in different menus than Google's Accessibility settings menu, which is designed for Pixel phones. You may need a newer Android version in some cases, especially for accessibility features that may have been introduced in recent years. If you're using an older device that doesn't have access to the latest Android operating system releases, some Accessibility features may not be available in the Settings app.

Your Android phone lets you set up a "Dark theme" (or "Dark mode") option at the system level, which makes it easier to read content in low-lit environments. The Dark theme option may be available under the "Color and motion" menu in the Accessibility settings. Android 16 also supports an expanded Dark theme feature that will darken the interface of apps that don't support dark modes on their own. But Android users who do a lot of reading at night may want to enable an Accessibility feature called Extra Dim, which lowers the screen brightness beyond the minimum setting.

To enable the Extra Dim feature, you'll have to go to the brightness slider in the Quick Settings menu on your Pixel 10 phone (and later). Pixel 9 phones and other Android devices will have the Extra Dim feature in the Accessibility menu. Some phones may also let you place an Extra Dim shortcut in the Quick Settings menu, so you can enable it manually when you need to use it.

There's one more Accessibility feature you can employ for reading content on your Android device called "Color inversion". You may find it in the "Color and motion" menu under the Accessibility menu. This feature turns dark colors into bright colors, and the other way around. You can combine it with the Dark theme settings and Extra Dim to get exactly the screen experience you want for your reading sessions.

Google launched the Live Captions feature in 2019 with the Pixel 4 phone, and then upgraded to Expressive Captions in 2024 and 2025. This Accessibility feature places captions on the screen for all the content you'd play on an Android device, and can significantly improve the way you watch content online. You may be using your phone or tablet without headphones in a loud environment, or at night, when raising the volume isn't advised. Some streaming services may not offer the best sound, or your Android device may be lacking in that department. Then there's social media content where sound quality and volume may vary. These are all instances where Live Captions let you continue enjoying content without interruptions.

Live Captions is available from the Accessibility menu on devices running Android 10 or later. Depending on your phone, you may be able to activate it directly from the Volume menu. To use Live Captions, tap the volume button and then the Live Captions icon that appears on the screen. Live Captions will also work with podcasts, audio messages, home movies, and calls (the latter is available on Pixel and select Android devices).

Expressive Captions, on the other hand, aim to capture the speaker's emotion to better convey tone and context. The feature can be especially useful when watching live streams or videos on social media that don't have built-in captioning. Expressive Captions may be available as a separate toggle in Android 14 or later. In 2025, Google brought emotion tags to Expressive Captioning, which will highlight feelings, like someone appearing to be "[sad]" in a social media video.

While Live Captions lets you enjoy content quietly, without bothering those around you, Sound Amplifier is an Accessibility feature that will help you boost the audio, whether it's environmental sounds, a conversation with someone, or content on your phone. The feature should be useful to people who suffer from hearing impairments, but you don't have to be diagnosed with hearing loss issues to want to improve your sound experience. 

Unlike other Accessibility features, Sound Amplifier has a couple of requirements. The feature might not be built into your phone. If that's the case, you'll need to download Google's Sound Amplifier app from the Play Store (for Android 6 and later) before you customize the experience in the Accessibility menu. You also need wired or wireless headphones to take advantage of Sound Amplifier.

When enabled, Sound Amplifier lets you customize the sound experience. For example, you can block unwanted noise or boost quiet, low, and high-frequency sounds. Using the feature may improve your video streaming experience. You may want to tweak the sound via Sound Amplifier on your phone rather than raise the TV's volume. You'll need to ensure that the phone's microphone is close to the source of the sound. The Accessibility feature also helps with one-to-one conversations on Pixel devices. A "Phone media" option lets you boost the sound of content played on devices running Android 10 or later.

Your Android phone can also talk to you, explaining what's on your display via the TalkBack Accessibility feature. People with vision impairments may want to enable the feature to make it easier to manage the phone, as the screen reader will speak aloud everything on the screen. TalkBack can also help if you enable it, at least briefly, during specific sessions. For example, if you are browsing the web while shopping online, TalkBack lets you converse with Gemini about the items on the screen. TalkBack with Gemini also works with social media content, where you may want Gemini to describe to you what's on your screen. It also lets you use voice dictation in Gboard on Android 16 devices.

If you plan on using TalkBack more often, you'll want to learn the various gestures available to manage the phone, as well as its supported Voice Commands. Some Android users may want to enable Voice Access on their devices, which may require a separate Google app from the Play Store. Once installed, the Voice Access menu in the Accessibility settings lets you configure the feature. With Voice Access enabled, you can control your device, such as scrolling the screen, opening apps, and tapping buttons by voice. Voice Access is independent of TalkBack, but it may work hand in hand with it, depending on how you customize your phone and what sort of hands-free experience you want from it.

Android phones offer more Accessibility features than the ones listed above. While these features can enhance your Android experience, you may not want to use them all the time. You'll need to turn them on and off depending on what you want to do. For example, Extra Dim may be required only at night, or maybe you don't need the Sound Amplifier feature throughout the day. That's where the "Accessibility shortcuts" feature will come in handy. The menu is available in the Accessibility settings, but its location may vary depending on the Android phone and operating system. 

You can add various Accessibility features to the Accessibility shortcuts menu, though not all Accessibility features support shortcuts. This will create a menu of accessibility features which can be accessed quickly by swiping up with two fingers from the bottom of the screen (or a three-finger swipe if TalkBack is enabled). Alternatively, you can set up the Accessibility shortcuts menu as a floating button on the screen. The Accessibility shortcuts feature can be customized later or disabled completely if you find yourself not using it.