National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO/IEC 30113‑62:2026.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee ICT/2, ICT Accessibility.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 28 February 2026.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives or www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs).

ISO and IEC draw attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO and IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO and IEC had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents and https://patents.iec.ch. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html. In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.

This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, Subcommittee SC 35, User interfaces.

A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 30113 series can be found on the ISO and IEC websites.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and www.iec.ch/national-committees.

Introduction

Screen readers are regarded as a default method of accessing ICT devices for people with visual impairments who are unable to see and understand the screens of these devices. The content on the screens, such as letters, words, numbers, punctuation, elements and so on, are spoken out loud by screen readers. Speakers or headphones connected to the ICT device become the main output components.

Multi-point gestures are used for screen readers of several commercially available ICT devices including smart phones, personal computers and so on. Potential variety and inconsistency among the multi-point gestures can cause serious accessibility problems for people with visually impairments. There is a strong need for international standards to define the multi-point gestures so that users with visual impairments do not get confused while they use ICT devices.

When gesture controls are used, the functions of screen readers include reading the item under the user’s finger, pausing or resuming speech output, and announcing the location of the user’s fingers on the screen, such as page numbers or rows. This document presents descriptions of multi-point gestures and the corresponding functions of the screen readers.

The document’s multi-point gestures can harmonize with single-point gestures for the screen readers. It is expected that users can use the screen readers easily and without confusion by executing the multi-point gestures. The gestures are performed by the users regardless of a specific recognition technique, a certain interaction method or a device.

In Annex A, specific instances of multi-point gestures used in various screen readers are provided for comparison.

1 Scope

This document defines multi-point gestures for screen readers.

It specifies movements for clear and classified multi-point gestures recognized by the screen readers.

It describes multi-point gestures performed by multiple point of interest (POI) for the screen readers.

NOTE Multiple POI can be manipulated by using multiple objects such as fingertips, etc.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Description of multi-point gestures for screen readers

5 General requirements and recommendations

6 Descriptions of multi-point gestures

6.1 “2-point left” gesture

6.2 “2-point right” gesture

6.3 “2-point down” gesture

6.4 “2-point up” gesture

6.5 “2-point pinch” gesture

6.6 “2-point spread” gesture

6.7 “2-point tap” gesture

6.8 “2-point double-tap” gesture

6.9 “2-point double-tap and hold” gesture

6.10 “2-point triple-tap” gesture

6.11 “3-point left” gesture

6.12 “3-point right” gesture

6.13 “3-point down” gesture

6.14 “3-point up” gesture

6.15 “3-point tap” gesture

6.16 “3-point double-tap” gesture

6.17 “3-point double-tap and hold” gesture

6.18 “3-point triple-tap” gesture

6.19 “4-point tap” gesture

6.20 “4-point double-tap” gesture

6.21 “4-point triple-tap” gesture

Bibliography

BS ISO/IEC 30113-62:2026

Information technology. Gesture-based interfaces across devices and method - Multi-point gestures for screen readers

Current

Published:

28 Feb 2026