As smartphones become the gateway to everything from banking to healthcare, one fact remains disturbingly overlooked: millions of users are being locked out. Not by choice, but by design.
In 2025, mobile apps are at the center of modern life. Yet for users with disabilities — including visual, motor, auditory, and cognitive impairments — most mobile experiences remain frustratingly inaccessible. Despite the global rise of digital inclusion laws, the vast majority of apps still fail to meet basic accessibility standards.
A 2023 WebAIM study revealed that 96.3% of homepages tested had at least one WCAG failure. Mobile environments often fare worse due to their design constraints and fragmented accessibility support across platforms. As a result, people who rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation, or alternative input methods are routinely excluded from digital services the rest of us take for granted.
"It’s not a small problem. We’re talking about millions of people who can’t access mobile apps that are critical for daily life," says Krystyna Sylyvonchyk, a U.S.-based Tech Quality expert and Senior QA Accessibility Engineer.
The accessibility gap is not just an oversight — it’s a systemic failure. While web accessibility has received growing attention in recent years, mobile accessibility remains a "blind spot" for many organizations. And the consequences are serious. People with disabilities often face barriers in accessing banking and financial tools, e-commerce and delivery apps, transportation and mobility services, and healthcare platforms. For companies, the legal risks are rising. Laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the U.S. and the European Accessibility Act (EAA) impose stricter standards on digital accessibility. Lawsuits over inaccessible apps are becoming more common, costing companies millions in settlements and reputation damage. But perhaps the most troubling cost is social: leaving millions of users behind in an increasingly digital world.
To better understand the challenges and solutions in mobile accessibility, inkl sat down with Krystyna Sylyvonchyk, the creator of a tool called Able Bee that is already reshaping how teams build inclusive mobile apps.
Krystyna is considered one of the very few engineers in the world who has successfully developed a fully integrated accessibility testing solution tailored specifically for mobile applications—a domain long neglected by mainstream tools. Her work is not only technically groundbreaking but also strategically disruptive, helping to redefine industry standards in digital accessibility. With a documented 90% reduction in violations during early development phases, adoption across multiple industries including healthcare and finance, and growing influence among developers globally, her contributions have placed her at the forefront of inclusive mobile technology. Krystyna not only provides her expertise, but represent a rare and extraordinary impact in a field that critically affects millions of users worldwide.
David: Why do so many mobile apps still fail accessibility checks?
Krystyna: A big part of the problem is timing. Accessibility is often treated as something you check after development is done. But by then, it’s too late or too expensive to fix. Mobile apps are complex, and many design choices impact users with disabilities—but most developers aren’t trained to catch those issues upfront.
David: What insight led you to create Able Bee?
Krystyna: I kept seeing the same mistakes over and over: missing labels, poor color contrast, broken navigation for screen readers. These weren’t isolated incidents—they appeared in nearly every team I worked with, across industries and company sizes, indicating a widespread systemic issue. And all of it was being caught too late. I thought, what if we could build a tool that acts like a functional test, but for accessibility? That’s what Able Bee does.
David: How does Able Bee work differently from traditional accessibility testing?
Krystyna: It’s not an afterthought. It’s part of the build process. Developers run Able Bee just like they would run unit or integration tests. The tool gives instant feedback, shows exactly what failed, and explains why it matters. That empowers developers to learn as they fix.
David: Is there in an impact? If yes, how do you measure it?
Krystyna: We’ve seen up to a 90% reduction in accessibility issues before QA even begins. This improvement has been especially noticeable in high-compliance sectors like healthcare and finance, where accessibility is both a usability and legal necessity. That’s a game-changer. And it’s not just theory—we’re seeing adoption by both startups and enterprise teams, no matter of the organization’s size, it works. The tool is flexible and easy to integrate. And it’s protected under U.S. copyright to ensure the originality and integrity of the innovation.
David: How do you know Able Bee is desired tool in U.S Tech sector?
Krystyna: I presented Able Bee at the TestingMind Conference in Boston in 2024, one of the leading international conferences for QA and software testing professionals. The response was incredibly encouraging. The audience wasn’t just curious—they were eager. That event showed there’s a real hunger for tools that make accessibility easier to manage.
David: What’s next for Able Bee?
Krystyna: We’re adding AI-powered autofix using large language models. We're also developing multilingual testing capabilities to expand beyond English speaking community, with second language being supported – Spanish in early 2026.
David: How do you see accessibility laws evolving, and what risks do organizations face if they fail to comply?
Krystyna: Accessibility regulations are expanding quickly, both in scope and enforcement. Laws like the ADA in the U.S. and the European Accessibility Act are already impacting how digital platforms must be built. I believe we’re going to see more stringent requirements for mobile accessibility in particular, as mobile usage continues to outpace desktop. For organizations, the risks aren't just financial—they include legal liability, reputational damage, and exclusion of a large segment of users. Accessibility isn't optional anymore. It's a compliance requirement and a core business risk if ignored.
The mobile accessibility crisis isn’t theoretical — it’s happening now, every day, on every app that doesn’t work for someone who depends on assistive tech. Tools like Able Bee offer hope not just through automation, but through a mindset shift.
"Accessibility isn’t charity or compliance. It’s usability," says Krystyna. "It reflects how much we value users and the diversity of their needs in our digital design decisions. And building for inclusion is just good design."
Her message is clear: if we want a truly digital society, we need to design it for everyone.
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