Accessibility overlay

Silktide detects when a page loads a third-party accessibility overlay - a widget that promises to make a website accessible automatically, usually through a floating button offering controls for font size, contrast, and similar adjustments. Detecting one is not a claim that your site is inaccessible; it is a prompt to verify that your site works without it.

Why this matters

Overlays cannot fix the underlying problems that make a website inaccessible: missing , broken structure, keyboard traps, and missing all remain in the page the overlay sits on top of. Worse, many users report that overlays actively interfere with the tools they already use - overriding output, hijacking , or adding controls they cannot dismiss.

Accessibility practitioners, disability advocacy groups, and regulators broadly advise against relying on overlays. In the US, websites using overlays continue to receive accessibility lawsuits; in Europe, guidance around the European Accessibility Act makes clear that an overlay does not constitute compliance. Relying on one can create legal exposure while leaving real users excluded.

How to fix it

Verify your website is accessible without the overlay. Disable or remove it in a test environment and review your accessibility results - the issues Silktide reports exist in your pages regardless of the overlay.
Fix accessibility problems at the source: in your templates, content, and code. Silktide's accessibility checks tell you exactly what to change.
If you conclude the overlay genuinely serves your users as an optional extra, and your site is accessible without it, you can this finding.

How Silktide tests this

Examine the scripts each page loads, and a small number of page elements that overlay widgets are known to inject.
Compare them against a curated catalogue of known overlay products. Only signatures unique to overlay products are used, so a match is essentially never accidental.
Report at most one finding per page. Silktide does not name the vendor and makes no claim about any specific product - it reports the verifiable fact that an overlay is loaded.

Troubleshooting

We use this vendor for something other than an overlay

Rarely, a site loads a script from an overlay vendor for an unrelated integration. If no overlay widget actually appears on your pages, approve the finding.

The overlay was removed but is still reported

Findings update when the page is next tested. If the script was removed from your templates but is still loaded by a tag manager or plugin, check there too.