Level AWCAG 2.0

2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide

For moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating information that starts automatically and lasts more than five seconds and is presented in parallel with other content, the user can pause, stop, or hide it.

Last reviewed: September 9, 2026

Understanding 2.2.2

Moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating content can be seriously distracting for people with attention-related cognitive disabilities, and it can make it difficult or impossible for screen reader and screen magnifier users to locate and read surrounding static content. This criterion requires a mechanism to pause, stop, or hide such content so users control when it moves rather than being forced to contend with it.

How to Meet It

Provide a visible, keyboard-accessible pause/stop/hide control for any content that moves, blinks, scrolls, or auto-updates automatically for more than five seconds and appears alongside other content. This applies to carousels, auto-advancing sliders, marquees, and auto-updating tickers or live feeds. Default carousels to include a pause button rather than treating it as optional.

Code Examples

INCORRECT

<div class="carousel" data-autoplay="true" data-interval="3000">
  <!-- Slides advance every 3 seconds indefinitely, with no way to pause -->
  <div class="slide">Slide 1</div>
  <div class="slide">Slide 2</div>
</div>

CORRECT

<div class="carousel" data-autoplay="true" data-interval="3000">
  <button type="button" aria-pressed="false" onclick="toggleAutoplay(this)">Pause slideshow</button>
  <div class="slide">Slide 1</div>
  <div class="slide">Slide 2</div>
</div>

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a carousel that only shows for 4 seconds total need a pause button?

Strictly, 2.2.2 only applies once auto-starting moving content lasts more than five seconds. In practice, most carousels cycle through multiple slides well past that threshold, so including a pause control is still the safer, recommended default.

Do CSS animations that only play on hover count?

2.2.2 covers content that starts moving automatically without user action. An animation that plays only while a user actively hovers isn't 'auto-starting,' so it typically falls outside this criterion, though it may still warrant respecting prefers-reduced-motion for other reasons.

Related Success Criteria

2.2.1 Timing Adjustable 2.2.3 No Timing 2.2.4 Interruptions 2.2.5 Re-authenticating

Quick Facts

Criterion2.2.2
LevelA
IntroducedWCAG 2.0

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