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Level AAAWCAG 2.1

2.5.6 Concurrent Input Mechanisms

Web content does not restrict use of input modalities available on a platform, except where the restriction is essential, required for security, or required to respect user settings.

Last reviewed: September 9, 2026

Understanding 2.5.6

Many users rely on more than one input method at once, or switch between them depending on fatigue, task, or context: for example, using touch most of the time but plugging in a keyboard for extended typing, or using a mouse alongside an on-screen switch scanner. If a page detects a touchscreen and disables keyboard focus, or detects a mouse and suppresses touch handling, it strands users who depend on the input method the page decided to turn off.

How to Meet It

Avoid feature-detecting one input type and disabling handlers for others. Support pointer, keyboard, and touch event handling concurrently rather than switching modes based on the last detected input type. Where a restriction is genuinely required (for example, disabling keyboard input during a kiosk-mode security screen), document and scope it as narrowly as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's a real-world violation of this criterion?

A web app that detects touch events and then disables all keyboard event listeners for the rest of the session, even though the device has a physical keyboard attached; this locks out anyone who prefers or needs to switch to keyboard control.

Related Success Criteria

2.5.1 Pointer Gestures2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation2.5.3 Label in Name2.5.4 Motion Actuation

Quick Facts

  • Criterion2.5.6
  • LevelAAA
  • IntroducedWCAG 2.1

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